Vitesse takes on Broadcom in Ethernet backhaul
Serval product targets LTE backhaul and network edge, adding a low power tier to the firm's Carrier Ethernet switch-on-chip line
Published: 5 December, 2011
READ MORE: Semiconductor | Backhaul | LTE
As investment in Ethernet backhaul systems balloons along with mobile data, the competition to provide specialized chips is mounting too. Vitesse Semiconductor has entered the market, going up against Ethernet major Broadcom, which added its own backhaul capabilities in March when it acquired Provigent.
Vitesse's new Serval line is a family of single-chip switches for equipment at the edge of the network, especially mobile backhaul. It claims the lowest power consumption in its class, and therefore the firm hopes to tap into the coming trend for small cells. It is targeted at fiber, microwave and millimeter wave backhaul, as well as wireline network edge devices.
The vendor says Serval is the only merchant switch chip which supports all the main standards which are likely to be dominant in Ethernet backhaul for LTE and LTE-Advanced - MPLS and MPLS-TP standards for packet routing and forwarding, and the IEEE 1588v2 specification for 4G backhaul timing. The first Serval chip, VSC7418, will sample this month.
Vitesse's existing Carrier Ethernet products are all named after wild cats too (Jaguar, Lynx and Caracal) and target the bigger access, aggregation and mobile elements, while Serval is optimized for low power, low cost applications at the edge. It also says it differentiates with a heavy focus on the OAM (operations, administration and maintenance) functionality of Carrier Ethernet, important for businesses which receive Ethernet services from multiple service provider networks.
The vendor says the product consumes 75% less power and has a 50% lower bill of materials than direct competitors. Those will include Broadcom and Intel, both of which made acquisitions in Ethernet switch-chips earlier this year, the former buying Israel-based Provigent and Intel snapping up Fulcrum, which targets high end Ethernet switches.
Broadcom paid $313m for its prey in March as it looked to extend its system-on-chip expertise throughout the mobile product chain and supplement its dominance in Ethernet switch silicon with specific backhaul expertise. Provigent supplies mixed-signal chips for microwave backhaul and its products are being combined with Broadcom's activities in
network infrastructure and wireless - further boosted by its purchase of NetLogic.
Many OEMs, like Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco, still use their own-designed ASIC chips in their Ethernet switches but as applications like mobile backhaul intensify the price pressure, merchant options are gaining ground, with firms like Marvell also aiming at Broadcom's crown.
"Ethernet markets are growing quickly - we forecast double-digit CAGRs for both Ethernet microwave backhaul equipment and Ethernet Access Devices through 2015, based on the dual fundamental drivers of growing traffic levels, and operators' migration from legacy TDM backbones to all-Ethernet access/aggregation networks," said Infonetics Research principal analyst Michael Howard, in the Vitesse news release.
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