Vitesse accelerates gigabit Ethernet time-to-market with WebSparX software stack.

Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. has announced the availability of a complete, royalty-free software stack for its SparX-G5 and SparXG8 series of Layer 2 Gigabit Ethernet switch systems-on-a-chip. Eliminating all significant development expenses and risk, the new WebSparX software package enables switch OEMs and ODMs to rapidly create easily customizable, browser-based user interfaces for switches targeted at Small Office Home Office (SOHO), Small Medium Business (SMB) and consumer wireless Ethernet networks.

With the rapid emergence of applications such as Voice-over-IP and Power-over-Ethernet (IEEE 802.3af) into low cost, high volume, Layer 2 Gigabit switches, OEMs, ODMs and Contract Manufacturers (CMs) need cost effective, turnkey solutions addressing both hardware and software to accelerate time-to-market, and to reduce development costs. By combining Vitesse's SparX hardware reference systems with the new WebSparX software, customers can quickly develop highly customized, web-based interfaces in under two weeks, with minimal development risk, while simultaneously eliminating software royalties.

The universal availability of Gigabit Ethernet as a standard feature on desktop and even laptop computers has created a growing demand for easy-to-configure, web-managed, Gigabit Ethernet switches with advanced Quality of Service (QoS) and management features to drive today's voice, video and data networks. Since most SOHO and home networks are administrated by the end-user, configuring and managing these advanced switch features can often be challenging. To simplify operation, the best solution is a web-based user interface. By providing the source code, the WebSparX software kit allows OEMs and ODMs to easily customize the user interface and browser web pages. For example, traffic prioritization, DSCP remarking (a key requirement for supporting Voice-over-IP), Link Aggregation and VLAN configurations can all be controlled through simple, web-based menus. The WebSparX software also supports a Command Line Interface (CLI) for automatic script configurations in more demanding Service Provider Applications.

"Our OEM and ODM customers sell switches into many different price-sensitive and unique Ethernet markets. Therefore, they require not only complete hardware reference designs, but also a royalty-free, web-managed software stack that can be quickly customized for different markets, applications and price points. With new applications such as Voiceover-IP, where Quality of Service configuration and control is crucial, our customers want to provide users a simple, web-based user interface to make the underlying switch features as easy to use as possible. WebSparX allows them to do all of this at no extra cost," said Michel Thorsen, director of software and applications for Vitesse's Ethernet Products Division.