Cicada Semiconductor enables low cost Gigabit Ethernet networking.

Cicada Semiconductor Corporation announced recently a complete 8-port Gigabit Ethernet switch reference design and development kit for manufacturers of Ethernet switches.

Requiring only a simple, 4-layer PCB to minimize manufacturing costs, the CRD8204 is a compact (10" x 5.5" x 1.5") Layer 2 switch platform showcasing Cicada's low power SimpliPHY CIS8204 Gigabit Ethernet-over-copper transceivers and VeriPHY Link Management Software. The CRD8204 provides systems designers with a robust platform for accelerating detailed engineering evaluation, product development, and rapid deployment of complete Gigabit Ethernet solutions.

The CRD8204 platform is fully tested and qualified, and is delivered with full documentation, schematics, Cicada's VeriPHY Cable Diagnostic and Link Management software, as well as worldwide application support, allowing network system designers to minimize their design cycles and achieve fast time to market.

"As part of Cicada's strategy to deliver complete Gigabit Ethernet solutions to our rapidly expanding customer base in Asia, North America, and Europe, the CRD8204 platform provides system designers with a comprehensive, `shrink-wrapped' switch platform, optimized for manufacture on low cost, 4-layer PCBs, without requiring expensive heatsinks," says Nick van Bavel, CEO of Cicada Semiconductor. "The new CRD8204 switch platform features Cicada's quad port SimpliPHY Series transceivers, and further strengthens our leading position of offering the highest performing Gigabit copper PHYs in volume production, in terms of noise immunity, interoperability and tolerance to cable plant variations."

VeriPHY offers SimpliPHY customers the industry's most extensive and modular suite of physical layer-based network management tools, diagnostic utilities, and a graphical user interface (GUI) to ease the manufacture, installation and management of Gigabit Ethernet equipment. The software suite provides users with the ability to quickly measure and monitor more than two dozen physical layer and cable parameters such as cable length, cable quality, and bit-error-rate. VeriPHY benefits manufacturers, designers, and network administrators of Gigabit Ethernet equipment by quickly pinpointing potential problems in both the network equipment and the cable plant. Running in real time and without requiring the user to bring the network down, VeriPHY utilizes the CIS8204's powerful on-chip DSP algorithms to help eliminate time consuming and expensive equipment replacements and field returns. This is achieved by integrating the equivalent power and simplicity of sophisticated hand-held cable testers in the PHY--at no cost to the systems designer, network installer or IT manager.

Priced at $1,495 (U.S.), the CRD8204 is available now.