Fujitsu intros hybrid Ethernet and metro ADM chip for GbE and PDH transport

February 3, 2005 Frankfurt -- Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe (FME) today rolled out its ETHOS (ETHernet Over SDH/SONET) device for full-rate Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and E1/DS1 access in Metro and Access networks. The device was designed in collaboration with AimCom, a design and development company specializing in next-generation carrier-class optical networking, based in The Netherlands.

FME reports that the first certified samples of ETHOS have been shipped to customers for development and system testing. Its system-on-chip design enables cost effective and compact customer located equipment, says the company, and it is equally well-suited as the core device on GbE interface cards in multi-service aggregation equipment.

"The ETHOS device brings a new level of Ethernet and SONET/SDH integration to the access and metro-edge markets," contends Simon Stanley, principal analyst with Earlswood Marketing. "The need for extra capacity in metro and access networks is fuelled by the rapidly growing number of end-users of broadband access via ADSL or cable modems and new Internet applications such as video streaming and file sharing. This makes it one of the high growth segments in optical networking over the next few years."

"Telecom equipment companies are today demanding highly integrated components to create their compact, leading-edge products for next-generation SDH aggregation networks," adds Dirk Weinsziehr, senior director of marketing at FME. "That's why Fujitsu, together with AimCom developed ETHOS--a key building block that enables developers to create a hybrid solution for Ethernet and leased line access. At the same time, ETHOS will help drive down costs by integrating support for VC-12 based grooming, line or ring protection, and system timing."

The support for full-rate GbE over protected SDH networks enables development of reliable, high bandwidth, network termination equipment. The standards-based SDH implementation enables integration into existing optical networks, while Virtual Concatenation and LCAS enable dynamic bandwidth allocation in steps of VT-1.5 or VC-12, VC-3 or VC-4, according to service demand for end-users.

ETHOS is designed for equipment in customer premises access or metro aggregation networks. It also targets equipment for the wireless and DSLAM backhaul infrastructure due to its dual access technologies: Providing an upgrade path as the access network migrates from cell based over E1/DS1 or STM-1/OC-3, to packet based over Ethernet.

ETHOS is a fully integrated, single chip, add-drop multiplexer. Four line ports at STM-4/OC-12 or STM-1/OC-3 are provided, each supporting direct connection to SFP modules. There are four E1/DS1 ports, and four Ethernet or GbE ports on the access side, as well as higher and lower order cross-connect fabrics and a telecom bus for port expansion. Ethernet frames are mapped via GFP, LAPS, or PPP, Virtual Concatenation and low latency LCAS.

The feature set further includes an integrated system timing generator, Ethernet flow control, support for Jumbo frames, TCP friendly rate controllers for fine grained bandwidth assignment, and packet insertion and extraction for next-generation, carrier-class Ethernet applications.

ETHOS is designed in Fujitsu's 0.18-micron process and delivered in a 756-pin BGA-TE package. The device is currently sampling and will be available in volume production in March 2005.