The Linley Group

ServerEngines used this month's LinuxWorld/Next-Generation Data Center conference as its coming-out party. The startup positions itself as a restart of ServerWorks, which Broadcom acquired in January 2001 in an all-stock deal valued at nearly $1 billion at the time. In early 2003, three of ServerWorks' executives, including CEO Raju Vegesna, left Broadcom in an unusually public split. In early 2004, the three founders of ServerWorks founded ServerEngines and have funded the company out of their own pockets. The company has grown to 185 employees spread across three development locations.

ServerEngines has been quietly shipping products for revenue for more than one year. The company's first product was the Pilot server management controller, which combines multiple functions typically found on a server motherboard into a single device: baseboard-management controller (BMC), graphics controller for a management console, and a remote KVM/storage-over-IP controller. ServerEngines' second chip is the NetClient multimedia thin-client processor, which is also shipping.

More recently, the company released two new products aimed at the server connectivity market. These include a dual-port 10GbE controller chip for PCI Express, dubbed BladeEngine, and complementary BladeExchange 10GbE fabric modules built around a 10GbE switch chip from Fujitsu. In its initial software release, BladeEngine supports simultaneous TOE NIC and iSCSI HBA operation. ServerEngines plans to support iWARP through a future software release. The company is also supplying NICs and blade-server mezzanine cards built around BladeEngine. By combining mezzanine cards with the BladeExchange fabric modules, ServerEngines offers a complete 10GbE solution for blade servers. The BladeEngine controller is already in production.

ServerEngines' launch is reminiscent of NetXen's entry in early 2006. But amazingly, ServerEngines has developed not one but three chips plus a great deal of software and, through its partnership with Fujitsu, a fabric module. The company has not yet disclosed customers for BladeEngine, but Pilot is shipping to OEMs including HP, NEC, and Fujitsu Siemens Computers. Despite being a newcomer in the 10GbE market, ServerEngines is a company to watch closely. —Bob

Complete coverage of BladeEngine will appear in our upcoming report "A Guide to 10G Ethernet Adapters and Controller Chips."

Last week, Luxtera announced Blazar, the industry's first 40Gbps optical active cable (OAC). Blazar uses the startup's unique CMOS photonics technology. Luxtera was the first company to sample a 2x10Gbps XFP transceiver, sampling its Aurora chip in 4Q06. Unlike optical modules that use multiple components, Aurora combines optical modulators, optical waveguides, and TIA and LA functions on a single chip. Luxtera plans to apply this same technology in its first system-level product.

Blazar is a 4x10Gbps OAC that operates over single-mode fiber, which uses the same wavelength as CMOS photonics. The company supports cables up to 300 meters, enough for most enterprise applications. Blazar targets server-to-server and server-to-switch applications in HPC (high performance computing) clusters as well as switch-to-storage interconnects.

Blazar uses four multirate transceivers that can operate from 1Gbps to 10.55Gbps, delivering a maximum aggregate bandwidth of 42Gbps. The power dissipation for the OAC is 2W (typ.) for each end of the cable, resulting in very low 0.5W per 10Gbps. Luxtera expects samples in 4Q07 and production in 2008.

Luxtera has set a precedent by announcing 40Gbps support at up to 300m. Blazar comes in a small package, has low power dissipation, and enables very large clusters. Because Blazar does not comply with communication industry standards, it will appeal only to OEMs of high-performance applications such as HPC clusters and InfiniBand. These applications, however, present a lucrative opportunity when serviced by one or two suppliers. —Jag

Join us on September 13 for a Linley Tech seminar on designing security into networking systems. Bob Wheeler, senior analyst at The Linley Group, will begin the program with an overview of security technologies (e.g., VPN, DoS, firewall, IDS/IPS, antivirus), market trends, and silicon trends.

You won't want to miss this outstanding lineup of technical presenters, including:

The seminar wraps up with a closing panel exploring the future of network-security processing. Following the closing panel will be a reception complete with exhibits and a raffle where we'll be giving away an iPod Nano, as well one copy of our reports, A Guide to Security Processors and Accelerators.

Register now! Attendance is free to qualified attendees that pre-register. The seminar is targeted at system designers, OEMs, network-equipment vendors, service providers, security-software vendors, press, and the financial community. This Linley Tech seminar will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel in San Jose.

This event is sponsored by Freescale, AMCC, SafeNet, Intel, Tarari, Elliptic, and cPacket Networks. For more information, visit our web site.

The Linley Group is expanding its coverage of the rapidly growing cell-phone market, releasing two new reports. A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors updates last year's edition with expanded coverage of application and baseband processors for cell phones. The report covers the trend toward baseband processors with integrated RF, such as TI's LoCosto and Infineon's eGOLD series. With 3G finally achieving significant market share, the report also focuses on how vendors such as Qualcomm and EMP are improving performance and reducing cost in this key segment. In all, baseband products from 14 vendors are described, along with applications processors such as TI's OMAP and Marvell's PXA.

Complementing this processor coverage, A Guide to Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Connectivity Chips describes the emerging market for chips that combine various connectivity functions, creating a two-chip model for next-generation handsets. This new report compares the first products to combine Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and FM radio functions from vendors such as Broadcom, Marvell, and Texas Instruments. It also covers standalone Wi-Fi chips that can be used in cell phones as well as in other mobile devices. These vendors include Atheros, Conexant, CSR, Nanoradio, NXP, Redpine, and STMicroelectronics.

Whether you are looking for an innovative solution for your design, a vendor to partner with, or a rising company to invest in, these reports will cut your research time and save you money. Buy either report for $2995, or save $1000 by ordering them together for just $4990. For more information on the contents of these new handset reports, access our web site.