Dune Leads the Revolution of 10GE Ethernet Switches with the Introduction of the PETRA Family.

10Gbps to 10Tbps Non-Blocking Ethernet Switching Shelves with 100ms Buffers for Carrier Ethernet, Enterprise and Data Center Networks

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Dune Networks, a provider of networking devices for Metro Ethernet, Enterprise and Data Center platforms, announced today the availability of its PETRA line of FAP (Fabric Access Processor) devices as part of its SAND[TM] chipset. Announced today are the P220 and P230 devices in the Petra family, providing 40Gbps and 80Gbps full-duplex traffic management and fabric access functionality, respectively.

By quadrupling the level of integration of existing devices in the market today, the P220 and P230 drive the evolution of Ethernet switches toward dense 10GE-port systems. The P220 and P230, together with the new generation of classification devices, enable the economic design of non-blocking switches with deep buffering and densities of hundreds of 10GE ports in a single shelf. The devices further support 40GE or OC768c rate ports and are ready of 100GE port rates.

The PETRA family enables system vendors to build a product-line that shares the same switching and traffic management infrastructure, and to address both different densities and different applications. Cost effective small chassis can be designed by meshing several P220/P230 devices without the need for fabric devices/cards. Half-rack chassis with densities of hundreds of 10GE ports can be designed by interconnecting the P220/P230 with the fabric element devices. Multiple chassis of different sizes can be interconnected in a non-blocking, resilient way via multi-stage fabric organization, supporting a world record of over 100Tbps of line-rate capacity or thousands of 10GE ports or 40GE/100GE equivalent.

System vendors who ship in volume switching platforms based on earlier generations of SAND devices (e.g. FAP10V/20V/11V/21V FE200) are now able to enhance their deployed switching systems. New line cards with higher 10GE ports density, or supporting 40GE/OC768c port rates, can be plugged into the legacy deployed systems. The P220 and P230 maintain Dune's backward compatibility methodology and can extend a product life-cycle to more than 10 years.

Jag Bolaria, Senior Analyst with The Linley Group declared, "Dune's P220 and P230 devices strengthen Dune's leading position in the switch market. On the basis of availability, non-blocking performance, integration, and scalability, Dune's P220 and P230 represent the leading fabric and TM architecture, as well as being the first 80G full-duplex devices to sample. We believe the PETRA family should enable Dune's customers to target new applications and reduce development time."

Eyal Dagan, Chief Executive Officer of Dune Networks said, "We are excited to release the new PETRA family, extending drive switching and traffic management to the next level of speed and HQoS requirements. The P220 and P230 join the previous generations of SAND chipset employed in over 100 designs. Dune pioneering designs are accelerating the mass adoption of 10GE in the enterprise, data center, and carrier networks."

P220/P230 in more detail:

The PETRA P220 and P230 support multiple interfaces on the line side enabling the connection of a wide range of Network Processors, Packet Processor devices, and FPGA devices. The P220 and P230 provide DRAM-based, deep packet buffering, which enables comprehensive traffic management, and integrate with a fabric interface that facilitates a Clos mesh fabric interconnect.

The PETRA devices support a wide range of line interfaces, including XAUI, XAUI+, SPAUI, RXAUI, SGMII, and SGMII+. XAUI+ doubles the data rates up to 6.25Gbps; RXAUI is like XAUI, but over two lanes running at 6.25Gbps; SGMII+ is like SGMII, but runs at 2.5Gbps; and SPAUI is a Dune-originated interface that combines the XAUI physical layer with enhancements supporting channelization and flow control similar to SPI-4.2. Each interface has the ability to run at its native speed or higher speeds, up to 6.25Gbps per lane. The devices feature a micro-code parser and mapping logic, to accommodate wide range packet formats. The Petra line is designed to interoperate with an array of Packet and Networks Processors, including Marvell, EZchip, Xelerated, and Bay Microsystems, in addition to proprietary PP solutions.

The PETRA family uses external DRAM memory to buffer data. Buffering is required to enable comprehensive traffic management for carrier applications and to provide superior goodput and fairness performance.

Like previous FAP devices, the P220 and P230 interconnect and communicate via the fabric interface, enabling economic implementation of a complete product line around a single architecture. The system is scalable from 40Gbps to 10Tbps via mesh, single-stage configurations, and up to 100Tbps via multi-stage configurations. The backplane interface operates at rates of 6.25Gbps, as well as at 3.125Gbps for backward compatibility with previous FAP and FE devices. This enables existing systems to be upgraded in the field with denser line cards or fabric cards.

The P220 and P230 include a programmable traffic manager. The scheduling and shaping hierarchy are fully programmable, with simultaneous shaping at all levels of hierarchy. The TM is designed to be compliant with MEF and DSL-FORUM TR-059 scheduling and shaping standards, and includes additional flexibility.

Availability and Pricing

Dune Networks is currently sampling the PETRA P220 and P230 to selected customers. Pricing is available upon request.

ABOUT DUNE NETWORKS

Dune Networks (www.dunenetworks.com) is a semiconductor supplier of networking devices, facilitating the build of Data Center, Enterprise and Carrier Ethernet Solutions. Dune provides a switching solution that truly scales in capacity, port rate, and service scheme. This extends the life cycle of packet platforms from the legacy 3 years up to 10 years and more, revolutionizing the economics of packet networks. Founded in the year 2000, Dune offices are located in Sunnyvale, California and in Yakum, Israel.

Copyright [c] 2008 Dune. All Rights Reserved.

PETRA, SPAUI, SAND, FAP10M, FAP10/20V, FE, FE200, FE600, Negev, and Gobi are all trademarks and the property of Dune. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.