Marvell offers dual-port 100G IEEE 802.3bj Ethernet transceiver chip

Communications semiconductor developer Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) has extended its Alaska C family of devices with the Alaska C 88X5121 transceiver. Currently sampling and compliant with IEEE 802.3bj and 803.3bm, the 88X5121 is designed to perform all of the physical layer functions necessary to transmit 100-Gbps Ethernet over a variety of media. The transceiver also supports 25 Gigabit Ethernet applications, as well as non-Ethernet applications such as Fibre Channel, according to Marvell.

Manufactured with 28-nm lithography, the 17x17-mm 88X5121 supports QSFP28-based 100GbE and 25GbE line card designs. The offers Reed-Solomon forward error correction (FEC) for 100G-CR4 and 100G SR4 applications, as well as auto-negotiation and coefficient training protocol per IEEE 802.3. The 88X5121 connects to a MAC or switch on its host interface over a 4x25-Gbps CAUI-4 link. The host interfaces' transmit drive and receiver equalization capabilities are compliant to OIF CEI-25G LR. On the line interface, the device will support single-mode fiber and multimode-fiber optical modules, passive and active copper direct attach cables, and copper backplanes.

For applications that don't need FEC, the 88X5121 also supports a low latency repeater mode which bypasses functions associated with the Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS) and FEC. In the repeater mode, the device can be used to drive backplanes and cables for non-Ethernet traffic types such as Optical Transport Network (OTN) and Fibre Channel. The eight lanes of the chip can operate independently in this mode, enabling simultaneous support for multiple standards. The 88X5121 will support applications from 1.25 Gbps to 28.05 Gbps.

"The market transition to higher speeds of 25GbE and 100GbE is underway and it's vital for vendors to address this need by offering standards-compliant solutions," commented Bob Wheeler, principal analyst, The Linley Group, via a Marvell press release. "Marvell's 88X5121 transceiver is an ideal fit for the data center market with its expansive feature set and flexibility."

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