Contributors: Bob Wheeler, Jag Bolaria, Joseph Byrne, Michael Stanford In This Issue
Ubicom CTO David Fotland will present at next week’s Linley Tech seminar on Processors for Networking and Communications in San Jose. Fotland will describe how Ubicom’s unique processor architecture addresses the increasing demands of the connected digital home. Admission is free to qualified OEMs or $495 to nonqualified attendees. For more details and a complete program, visit our web site. Cavium Targets Gateways with CN50xx Cavium has upgraded its gateway processors with the CN50xx, a family of single- and dual-core MIPS processors that operate at speeds of up to 700MHz. The new processors are pin- and software-compatible with Cavium’s current CN30xx devices while offering significantly better performance. (The CN30xx tops out at 500MHz.) The new devices also burn less power, thanks to a shift from 130nm to 90nm manufacturing. Cavium expects to sample the CN50xx by December. Despite being a relative newcomer to the processor game, Cavium has made significant advances. In the past year, the CN30xx has gained design wins in broadband gateways, 802.11n routers, and secure routers from NetGear, Cisco/Linksys, Omron, and others. The new CN50xx provides a performance upgrade for these devices. By making the new parts pin-compatible with the current ones, Cavium enables customers to leverage their existing board and software designs, taking advantage of the infrastructure investment that Cavium and its partners have made for the CN30xx. But this decision kept the company from adding newer interfaces such as PCI Express or serial ATA. These interfaces will probably appear in a next-generation processor next year. In the meantime, the new CN50xx should continue Cavium’s momentum in the SOHO market. —Linley Coverage of Cavium’s CN50xx processors appears in our upcoming report A Guide to Communications Processors.
Last week, Atheros announced sampling of a new low-power Wi-Fi chip, the AR6002. This is the company’s first upgrade since the AR6001 in 2005, and the improvements are substantial. In particular, power consumption has been radically reduced. Whereas the AR6001 was competitive, the AR6002 sets a new benchmark: Atheros claims it uses only 30% as much power when active and almost no power at all (sub-microwatt) in standby mode. The AR6002 is a single-package solution incorporating not only the RF and baseband but the power amplifier, low noise amplifier, and even the antenna switch, all in a 7x7 mm package. This level of integration should reduce overall system cost. Atheros is able to accomplish all of this using an inexpensive 130nm process. Atheros won an endorsement of its Wi-Fi technology from an unlikely source: Texas Instruments. Although TI competes with Atheros in the cell-phone market, it does not directly service other embedded applications. Consequently, TI selected Atheros to supply the Wi-Fi component for the reference design for its DaVinci-based handheld video player. The AR6002 is an impressive accomplishment, but lacking Bluetooth capability, it will be most successful outside the handset market. —Michael Additional coverage of Atheros Wi-Fi products appears in our recent report A Guide to Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Connectivity Chips. NXP announced the PNX4903, a new member of the single-chip Aerofone line that it acquired from Silicon Labs. The 4903 includes new firmware that enables polyphonic MIDI and MP3 ringtones. In addition, the chip can play MP3 tracks stored on an SD card. The Aerofone chips are unusual among low-end baseband processors in supporting an SD/MMC slot. Although the Aerofone chips are typically used in ultra-low-cost (ULC) handsets, even these customers are willing to pay slightly more for music and ringtones. NXP also offers the Aerofone 4901 for bare-bones ULC phones. The company now supports the Aerofone chips in its Nexperia software package and plans to continue development of the single-chip product line. —Linley Additional coverage of the SH-Mobile and Nexperia products appears in our report A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors.
As residential and SOHO gateways move from basic ADSL to high-speed technologies, they're adding new services such as VoIP and NAS. These emerging high-end gateways require inexpensive yet powerful processors with data-plane acceleration to deliver the necessary throughput and quality of service (QoS). This demand is being filled by communications processors—highly integrated devices that combine a powerful CPU with data-plane acceleration to deliver the throughput and features required by these applications. Although Freescale’s PowerQuicc was the first to serve these markets, many competitors have emerged, including Cavium’s low-cost versions of Octeon, Ubicom’s unique IP5100, the Ikanos Fusiv products, and PMC-Sierra’s new Vx180, which integrates VDSL2. The report also covers products from Intel, LSI, and Mindspeed. A Guide to Communications Processors provides an in-depth look at these products and vendors. Building on “A Guide to SOHO Gateway Processors” published in 2006, this report provides extensive coverage of processors targeting VDSL2 and PON gateways. We have added coverage of communications processors targeting SMB gateways as well as access infrastructure. This handy guide, packed with valuable information, gives you the analysis you need to help choose a supplier or partner in this field. The report covers the latest in technology trends and delivers thorough coverage of all announced products in this area. For each of these vendors, the report examines the performance, feature set, and architecture of each product, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses in a consistent, easy-to-compare fashion. Analysis of each vendor’s software and development tools, example system designs, and product roadmaps are also included. The report concludes with our own comparisons of these products and conclusions about which will fare best. Don't delay! Order A Guide to Communications Processors order by November 30 to receive a special prepublication discount. For more information on this report, visit our web site. To receive Linley on CE via e-mail, you must register on our web site
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