Vitesse Introduces Two Industry Firsts; Serial Link Replicator up to 1.5Gb/s and Dual Repeater/Retimer Expands Vitesse's Velocity Family of CMOS ICs.

Business &Technology Editors

CAMARILLO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2000

Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq:VTSS) today introduced the industry's first Dual Repeater/Retimer, the VSC7130, for improving signal quality and eliminating jitter transfer in duplex serial links, thereby ensuring compliance to Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet specifications.

Vitesse also introduced the VSC7132 Serial Link Replicator for routing serial signals in Fibre Channel, Gigabit Ethernet, ATM, SONET and HDTV applications at speeds up to 1.5Gb/s. These latest additions of 3.3V integrated circuits to Vitesse's Velocity(TM) family of CMOS ICs enlarge the family to 15 different components.

VSC7130 Dual FibreTimer(TM) With I2C Port &Hub Support

The VSC7130 features two FibreTimer all-digital Repeater/Retimer cells along with additional circuitry for FC-AL Hubs. As a repeater, incoming signals are recovered and retransmitted synchronously with the recovered clock in order to improve signal quality and attenuate jitter with low latency.

As a retimer, incoming signals are recovered and retransmitted synchronously with a local clock to eliminate jitter transfer at the expense of longer latency. Fibre Channel Fill Words are added/dropped from the incoming data to match the rate of the local clock. This dual purpose IC can be configured as a retimer on the output of a system and as a repeater on the input.

The VSC7130 is most commonly used at critical system interconnects in SAN and LAN equipment to ensure bi-directional signal quality compliance to stringent Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet specifications. More than 70 I2C-accessible registers are provided for FC-AL Hub support where the VSC7130 is used as a single Hub Node.

&uot;The VSC7130 is finding widespread use at critical interfaces in hubs, JBODs, switches, routers and RAID systems where signal quality compliance is required, such as an integrated switch where the on-chip SerDes is located far from the bulkhead connectors on the linecard,&uot; stated Tom Brokaw, senior product marketing manager for the SAN Products Group. &uot;The VSC7130 is unique in its ability to ensure compliance regardless of the quality of the incoming signal.&uot;

VSC7132 Link Replicator

The VSC7132 provides an easy-to-use device in a small package to duplicate a serial link for connectivity or redundancy reasons. This high-performance buffer/multiplexer provides, in the transmit direction, a duplication of a serial input onto two serial outputs and, in the receive direction, selects between one of two inputs.

This allows a duplex serial link to be connected to two destinations, allowing flexibility and redundancy in system configurations. An additional multiplexer provides routability between all three links, which is valuable in Fibre Channel host adapters for connecting an FC-AL loop to both internal and external ports.

The easy-to-use, on-chip transmit terminations of the VSC7132 eliminate the need for any external components at the outputs of the device. Only receiver impedance matching terminations are required, i.e. typically a differential 100 or 150 ohm resistor. Simple 5V-tolerant steering controls and output enables are provided.

&uot;The VSC7132 enables system architects to easily and inexpensively duplicate links in high-performance Gigabit Ethernet, ATM, HDTV, SONET and Fibre Channel switches, host adapters, network interface cards or other serial systems at speeds up to 1.5Gb/s,&uot; stated Fred Weniger, senior product marketing manager of Vitesse's Fabric Components Group.

&uot;The outstanding signal quality and low jitter deliver extra design margin and worry-free operation to the user,&uot; concluded Weniger.

The VSC7130 and VSC7132 are fully compliant with Gigabit Ethernet IEEE 802.3z and Fibre Channel NCITS T11 specifications. The VSC7132 is packaged in a 28-pin, TSSOP and is priced under $3.50 in quantities of 10,000. Production quantities are available now. The VSC7130 is packaged in a 64-pin, 10mm, TQFP and is priced under $10 in quantities of 10,000. Production quantities are available now.

Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation is a world leader in the design, development and manufacturing of high-bandwidth communications and Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) integrated circuits (ICs). Vitesse has been a primary developer of Fibre Channel technology and a contributor to the NCITS X3T11 Fibre Channel committee, and the Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA), as well as the Gigabit Ethernet Alliance (GEA).

The company's products address the needs of telecommunications, datacommunications and ATE equipment manufacturers who demand a combination of high speed, high complexity and low power dissipation.

Vitesse has headquarters in Camarillo and manufactures volume ICs at its two fabrication facilities in Camarillo and Colorado Springs. Company/product information can be found on the Web at www.vitesse.com.