March 5, 2004 Shelton, CT -- TranSwitch Corp., developer of high-speed VLSI semiconductor solutions, recently unveiled its second generation Envoy family of carrier-class Ethernet controllers. The Envoy-CE4 (TXC-06885) and Envoy-CE2 (TXC-06880) target next-generation Ethernet transport systems requiring design flexibility, improved time-to-market, and lower development and board costs, say company representatives. The Envoy line of Ethernet controllers "gluelessly" interconnects with the Intel IXP2400 network processor for applications such as edge routers, IP DSLAMs, 3G wireless base stations, Ethernet-over-SONET/SDH Multi-Service Provisioning Platforms (MSPPs), and multi-service routers and switches.
"We have worked closely with TranSwitch on defining the specifications of the Envoy-CE2 and Envoy-CE4 products to ensure glueless interworking with Intel's network processor devices," reports Doug Davis, general manager, Intel's Network Processor Division. "The Envoy family of configurable carrier-class Ethernet controllers in combination with Intel IXP2400 network processors provides our customers a complete reference design and evaluation kit for the IXDP2400 platform, enabling faster equipment time-to-market."
The Envoy-CE devices' versatile features were chosen for fast, easy metro Ethernet or edge access system design. The Envoy-CE4 incorporates four configurable Media Access Controllers (MACs), while the Envoy-CE2 contains two configurable MACs. Each MAC is configurable at boot-up as a single Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000-compliant) or octal Fast Ethernet (10/100-compliant) interface, thereby enabling the devices to support up to 32 Fast Ethernet ports and/or four Gigabit Ethernet ports. The SPI-3 interface can operate at up to 125 MHz, allowing throughputs in excess of 4 Gbit/sec, and it directly interfaces with the Intel IXP2400 network processor and other standard off-the-shelf processors.
The support for master mode on the SPI-3 allows a glueless interface with standard SPI-3 -based VCAT/GFP mappers for delivery of Ethernet-over-SONET/SDH. The Envoy-CE4 and Envoy-CE2 support Jumbo (9600 Bytes) and Super Jumbo (12 KBytes) frames on both the Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet interfaces with large on-chip buffers. In addition to the standard features found on the current Envoy-8FE and Envoy-2GE devices, the Envoy-CE4 and Envoy-CE2 provide port muxing and a customer-programmable routing tag encapsulation.
"With Ethernet technology rapidly gaining momentum, communications OEMs must address the need for higher port density, standardized interfaces, and flexible programmability," contends Dr. Hoshang Mulla, vice president of marketing at TranSwitch. "The Envoy-CE family of carrier-class Ethernet controllers delivers the required functionality with significant time-to-market advantages. TranSwitch's expanding line of Envoy products, coupled with Intel network processors, empowers our customers to successfully compete in today's communications network market."
Envoy-CE4 is priced at $109 each and Envoy-CE2 is priced at $79 each, both in 1,000-unit quantities. Device samples will be available at the end of the month to select customers.