AHA Announces Turbo Product Code Core Generator Technology.PULLMAN, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 1999-- Advanced Hardware Architectures, Inc. (AHA) announced the introduction and immediate availability of a core generator for its Forward Error Correction A communications technique that can correct bad data on the receiving end. Before transmission, the data are processed through an algorithm that adds extra bits for error correction. If the transmitted message is received in error, the correction bits are used to repair it. (FEC See forward error correction. FEC - Forward Error Correction ) technology based on Turbo Product Codes (TPCs). Called "Galaxy," this core generator is an industry first that enables communication systems engineers to obtain a custom configurable FEC core based on AHA's TPC (Transaction Processing Performance Council, San Francisco, CA, www.tpc.org) An organization devoted to benchmarking transaction processing systems. In order to derive the number of transactions that can be processed in a given time frame, TPC benchmarks measure the total performance of technology that out-performs available error correction solutions by a significant margin. Cores generated by Galaxy are able to address applications that require Gbit/sec data rates as well as low data rate, cost sensitive systems. Galaxy represents a significant technology breakthrough as well as a paradigm shift A dramatic change in methodology or practice. It often refers to a major change in thinking and planning, which ultimately changes the way projects are implemented. For example, accessing applications and data from the Web instead of from local servers is a paradigm shift. See paradigm. in how communications engineers can optimize the price performance of their new designs. Unlike traditional cores, Galaxy accepts the customer's system level requirements and actually synthesizes a customer unique solution. Unlike "one size fits all" solutions, the resulting core is optimized for both cost and performance. In addition to Galaxy, AHA is developing a line of standard TPC based products for customers whose volumes may preclude the development of a custom ASIC A redundant reference to an ASIC chip. ASICs are already customized for a specific use. See ASIC. . The Galaxy Core Generator is also being used internally to develop standard TPC products. The first product, code named "Astro OC-3," is targeted toward systems requiring OC-3 data rates (155 Mbits/sec). Galaxy incorporates improvements in TPC technology which enable TPC cores and products such as the Astro OC-3 to outperform even Turbo Convolutional Code technology at high code rates. Some typical applications include: satellite communications; wireless local and wide area networks; wired communications such as gigabit Ethernet and xDSL; point-to-point terrestrial data links; LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Service) A digital wireless transmission system that works in the 28 GHz range in the U.S. and 24-40 GHz overseas. It requires line of sight between transmitter and receiving antenna, which can be from one to four miles apart ; telemetry/instrumentation data links; and Wireless Local Loop systems. AHA will use Galaxy to start development of a sub-$5 chip, Astro LE, that addresses low cost Wireless LANs and similar applications. Customers desiring an even lower cost solution will be able to utilize AHA's Galaxy Core Generator to develop their own custom ASIC solution that including license fees can cost less than $1 in million unit volumes. AHA's TPC solutions, both custom cores and standard products, are capable of providing up to 3 dB or more of coding gain improvement over existing forward error correction methods. This coding gain can be used by the systems designer to either reduce cost or improve performance. For example, 3 dB of coding gain advantage could: - Increase the range of a wireless data link by 40 percent - Reduce antenna size by 30 percent - Reduce required transmitter power by a factor of 2 Supporting the TPC cores and standard products is AHA's Windows(tm) based evaluation software. Also available to assist with systems level simulations is a toolkit of software tools with dynamic link libraries for different simulation environments. Headquartered in Pullman, Wash., AHA is a fabless semiconductor company A fabless semiconductor company specializes in the design and sale of hardware devices implemented on semiconductor chips. It achieves an advantage by outsourcing the fabrication of the devices to a specialized semiconductor manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry or "fab. that develops, markets and sells data coding technologies such as Reed-Solomon, Viterbi, Turbo Product Codes, and both lossless See lossless compression. (algorithm, compression) lossless - A term describing a data compression algorithm which retains all the information in the data, allowing it to be recovered perfectly by decompression. Unix compress and GNU gzip perform lossless compression. and lossy See lossy compression. (algorithm) lossy - A term describing a data compression algorithm which actually reduces the amount of information in the data, rather than just the number of bits used to represent that information. data compression. SOURCE: DigitalWork ( http://www.digitalwork.com ) WHERE SMALL BUSINESS GOES TO WORK |
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