* Broadcom uses 65-nanometer CMOS technology
Semiconductor maker Broadcom recently shipped its first Gigabit Ethernet switch chips produced using 65-nanometer CMOS technology.
Called the StrataXGS 200 Series, the new chips achieve an “unprecedented level of integration,” the company says. The new 65nm process technology allows for chips that consume less power and reduce overall system costs for gear used in LANs, service provider networks and data centers.
More memory and logic circuits can be packed into a single integrated circuit than with 90nm process technology, and that should in turn improve system performance.
End users wouldn’t buy the Broadcom chips directly, but there is a good chance your equipment provider includes them in its products. Broadcom claims 70% of the market for Gigabit Ethernet switch integrated circuits based on merchant silicon.
The StrataXGS 200 Series includes multilayer Ethernet switches. The largest in the series supports up to 28 Gigabit Ethernet ports, with 10/100/1000Mbps flexibility. Broadcom says the series provides wirespeed Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 routing.
The chips also route IPv6, performing the routing in hardware. Broadcom says this should future-proof the switches and enable an easier migration from IPv4 to IPv6.
The switch chips contain a 32-bit MIPS processor for running network management applications, QoS capabilities, traffic management and collecting network statistics.
The chips are now available as samples to makers of switch systems, along with reference designs to make implementation easier. There are three members of the family, ranging from an eight-port model to a 16-port model to the 24-port model. All have four uplinks as well.
