Advanced SSA technology goes mainstream via packaged semiconductor solution; VLSI SSA standard product integrates PCI bus, host adapter and I/O functions.

Storage Architecture (SSA) mass storage host controllers moved into the computing mainstream through today's introduction of the VLSI Technology, Inc. VCS94250 PCI-SSA-I/O processor chip.

Offering the highest integration and performance yet achieved for an SSA controller product, the VCS94250 processor will simplify SSA product development through reduced chip counts while taking disk array performance towards theoretical maximums specified in the SSA and PCI bus standards.

Runbir Singh, VLSI director for the computer products business unit says the VCS94250 processor marks a milestone in the evolution of the SSA disk controller architecture. "The VCS94250 processor solidly establishes SSA as the high performance/low-cost disk array architecture of choice. By making it easier to design and build SSA-based products, the VLSI product fulfills the promise of SSA as a low-cost, high-performance host adapter technology for workstation/high-end PC adapter cards, server interfaces and disk arrays such as RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) boxes."

Bridging the I/O Gap

VLSI views the emergence of SSA as an important step towards closing the "I/O Gap"--the data transfer bottleneck between giga- and terabyte storage resources and today's increasingly powerful and data hungry PCs, networks and consumer multimedia products. According to VLSI's Singh, "Data connectivity standards such as SCSI and IDE have served the industry well, but are running out of gas when it comes to speed, bandwidth and reliability. SSA will become standard equipment on PCs, workstations and computers everywhere. VLSI is very well positioned to take advantage of the semiconductor subset of the SSA market opportunity."

VCS94250 Processor Features and Benefits

The VCS94250 chip represents a standard product implementation of the VLSI Technology VCF94100 PCI and VCF94200 SSA Functional System Block (FSB) ASIC cells introduced earlier this year. Key elements of the VCS94250 processor include an I/O serializer/de-serializer transceiver clocked at 200 Mhz, a PCI interface supporting the full 32-bit/33 MHz PCI bandwidth, a 20 MByte/sec dual port SSA interface and an on-chip phase-locked loop, all managed by an ARM RISC embedded processor running at 25 MHz. The part operates at 3.3 Volt DC and comes packaged in a 160-pin metric quad flat pack (MQFP).

Using the product, OEMs can integrate SSA functionality into host adapter solutions with as few as two chips--VCS94250 processor and an oscillator synchronized with the chip's on-board phase locked loop. The chip contains 4 KByte of static RAM and 1 KByte of POST ROM, with the developer able to add external RAM and ROM to application specific products or build in supplemental functionality.

Disk Controller Market Map

The SSA mass storage architecture has emerged as a leading choice for multidisk array products in the post-SCSI/IDE era. SSA positions itself as a low complexity, high performance architecture for multiple disks installed in a single cabinet or chassis. Offering a redundant serial data path, SSA provides higher data transfer rates and greater fault tolerance than previous-generation disk controllers. Originally developed by IBM, companies who have announced support for the SSA standard include Adaptec, Conner Peripherals, EMC, Micropolis and Siemens Nixdorf.

VLSI views SSA as a data movement technology complementary to the company's Fibre Channel semiconductor products. Fibre Channel excels at very high speed communications over campus-wide distances, linking high capacity servers, powerful workstations, supercomputers, mainframes, clusters or networks. SSA offers speeds and transmission distances scaled to workgroups or individual computers, but at lower cost. As data storage and processing power continue to grow exponentially, today's typical SCSI/FDDI data movement axis will likely be replaced by an SSA/Fibre Channel alignment.

Pricing and Availability

The VCS94250 SSA controller will ship in sample quantities in December 1995, with full production ramp in the first quarter of 1996. VLSI quotes OEM quantity pricing for the product at USD $50.

About VLSI Technology, Inc.

VLSI Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VLSI) designs and manufactures application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and application- specific standard products (ASSPs) based on its library of FSB functional system blocks. Targeting its offerings towards the communications, computing, and consumer entertainment marketplaces, the company offers its customers advanced system-level integration capabilities. The company is based in San Jose, California, with 1994 revenues of $587 million, and has approximately 2,700 employees worldwide.

-0-

Note to Editors: FSB is a trademark of VLSI Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

CONTACT: VLSI Technology Inc., San Jose

Martin Chorich, 408/922-5155