Editor: Linley
Gwennap In This Issue
Did you miss our Sept 16 seminar, "Designing Security in Networking Systems?" You can now access the presentations from Cavium, Hifn, Freescale, SafeNet, and Intel, as well as The Linley Group's security technology overview. Go to our web site and register for a FREE copy of these proceedings. You won't want to miss this year's Network Systems Design Conference coming Oct. 18-20 at Parkside Hall in San Jose. Get the latest information addressing the critical issues faced by system designers in their next-generation designs. For more information, or to register, visit the NSDC web site. Last week, Airgo Networks announced its third-generation Wi-Fi chip set. Compared with Airgo's prior-generation product, the AGN300 chip set improves both performance and integration. Like Airgo's existing product, the AGN300 uses spatial-division multiplexing (or MIMO) with two transmitters to double raw bit rate as compared with standard 802.11a/g. The new product, however, also enables the use of 40MHz channels to redouble the bit rate. The AGN300 delivers a maximum data rate of 240Mbps using a 40MHz channel and 126Mbps with a single (20MHz) channel. We attribute the difference between these rates and multiples of 802.11a/g rates (108/216Mbps) to higher FEC coding rates. Although the maximum performance of Airgo's new chip set is impressive, the product also reduces the cost of MIMO designs. Airgo has developed a transceiver chip that integrates dual receivers with a single transmitter. When combined with the AGN301RF single transceiver and AGN303BB MAC/baseband chip, the dual-receiver AGN302RF enables a three-chip design for 2x3 MIMO configurations. This new level of integration brings the cost of 2x3 designs closer to that of 2x2 designs, which also require three chips. The new AGN303BB device adds a USB 2.0 interface as an alternative to the PCI/CardBus interface. The AGN300 chip set is in production; pricing was not announced. By taking advantage of 40MHz channels, Airgo has effectively doubled the price/performance of its products. The AGN300's 240Mbps maximum data rate also sets it apart from Atheros Super G products, which offer the same 108Mbps maximum rate as Airgo's existing product. This should help Airgo maintain its strong position in premium retail Wi-Fi products. The combination of data rate and range delivered by the AGN300 could also finally deliver the whole-home video distribution long promised by Wi-Fi chip vendors. —Bob Additional coverage
of Airgo Networks appears in our new report "A
Guide to Next-Generation Wireless."
The QuickSec technology has been proven in SafeNet's own IPSec accelerator chips. SafeNet also licenses QuickSec to other vendors seeking to add encryption to their products. For example, AMCC embedded QuickSec in its recently announced PowerPC 440GRx processor. The 5140, however, is SafeNet's first product to include a customer-programmable CPU and a complete set of system interfaces. SOHO processor vendors have already integrated encryption engines into their products, eliminating the need for a separate security chip. Delivering enough IPSec performance for the SMB market is more of a challenge, and SafeNet is one of the few vendors to target this market. SafeNet's extensive experience with security technology gives it credibility with OEMs, and the company may eventually improve its SMB product by adding content-processing acceleration from its Raqia acquisition. By delivering an integrated product unmatched by Cavium, Hifn, or Broadcom, SafeNet will gain share in SMB security appliances by displacing standalone IPSec chips. —Linley SafeNet presented its new processor at our security seminar last
week. Download a free copy of this presentation from our web
site.
This quarter, PLX Technology introduced the PEX8508 and the PEX8518. These 5-port PCI Express (PCIe) switches complement the company's earlier 4-, 6-, and 8-port switches. The PEX8508 offers 8 PCIe lanes that can be configured as 5 separate ports. The PEX8518 adds 8 more lanes that can be allocated among the 5 ports. System designers can configure each port with any number of available PCIe lanes. Although its earlier products used a store-and-forward architecture, the new devices support cut-through operation, which reduces latency to less than 150ns. The cut-through approach will be attractive for VoIP and video applications. Because PCIe bridges support a limited number of outstanding read-cycles, lower latency through the switch could also be useful for transferring large storage files. Although PCIe is a single host bus, PLX has enhanced the specification with non-transparent bridging, which allows PCIe to be used by two or more host systems. Because the hosts are on separate clock domains, each requires clock-isolation circuitry. The PEX8508 and PEX8518 incorporate this circuitry to reduce the system cost of supporting two hosts. PLX expects to sample these new products in January 2006. Because the PEX8508 and 8518 are on the same IC process as the company's earlier switches and reuse large portions of that design, we expect both new products to be on schedule and functional. While IDT is playing catch-up and NEC has a incomplete product line, PLX continues to establish itself as the leading vendor of PCI Express bridge and switch products. —Jag Additional
coverage of PLX appears in our report "A
Guide to High-Speed Interconnects." Last week, Ample Communications announced a 2x10GbE MAC device for 4Q05 sampling. The highly integrated Redhawk chip includes 10Gbps XFI line-side serdes for direct connection to XFP modules. Like other Ample MAC chips, Redhawk also supports intelligent oversubscription/aggregation. The A2122 Redhawk is priced at $350 in volume. Full technical details will be disclosed in a talk at next month's Network Systems Design Conference. —Bob What can The Linley Group do for you? We're glad you asked! We offer customized consulting services tailored to meet your specific needs—not a one-size-fits-all methodology. We are experts in emerging areas such as high-speed interconnects, next-generation wireless technologies, high-speed embedded processors, security and content processors, network processors, and much more. If you're launching a new product, we'll evaluate your plans and let you know if you're on target or way off base. We understand the market for these devices, the strategies of the various competitors, key product differentiators, and how to position your device for maximum success. For those looking to select a new device, we'll help you evaluate your options and select the right device for your specific needs. We'll help you plow through the vendor hype and provide you with meaningful product and feature comparisons. Because our analysts are already up-to-speed on your market, we can understand your problem and deliver recommendations quickly and effectively. To get a specific quotation for your project, contact us.
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