Microsemi and Aquantia Announce Production-Ready Multi-Rate Switch Reference Platform

Hong Kong, China, May 25, 2017 /ChinaNewswire.com/ - Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, and Aquantia Corp., a pioneer and market leader in high-speed Ethernet connectivity solutions for data centers, enterprise infrastructure and client connectivity, announced a production-ready multi-rate switch reference platform optimized to support 24×2.5G and up to additional four 2.5G/5G/10G BASE-T ports. The solution—which combines Microsemi’s SparX-IV L2/L3 enterprise switch, VSC7448; Linux SMBStaX software; clock management; PD69208M Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) power sourcing equipment (PSE) manager and Aquantia’s second generation multi-rate IEEE#8482;802.3bz PHY, AQR409— was demonstrated by Microsemi in the NBASE-T Alliance booth, at Interop ITX in Las Vegas last week.

“The new multi-rate switch reference platform provides Microsemi customers a complete hardware and software solution that can be readily taken to the market, as Aquantia’s PHY application program interface (API) and firmware have been integrated into Microsemi’s Linux-based application software suites, including CEServices, SMBStaX and WebStax,” said Larry O’Connell, director of product marketing for Microsemi’s Ethernet Networking Technology (ENT) group. “Additionally the solution combines Microsemi PoE and low jitter clock solutions with our Ethernet switch and software technologies, providing our customers a single source for their Ethernet networking needs.”

With target applications including 1G, 2.5G and 10G Ethernet switching and aggregation, the joint reference design from Microsemi and Aquantia is ideal for enterprise infrastructure applications such as enterprise and small and midsize business (SMB) switches, enterprise access routers, as well as wireless local access network (WLAN) access point (AP) switches. Due to exponential growth of Wi-Fi enabled devices, today’s enterprise APs have maximized their Gigabit uplink throughput. IHS Technology expects total worldwide 802.11ac and 802.11ac Wave 2 APs will exceed 128 million units from 2015 to 2020, comprising more than 76 percent of total AP shipments by 2020. These 802.11ac upgrades, especially Wave 2, will require additional Ethernet data rates beyond what Gigabit Ethernet technology can currently support.

“As Wi-Fi speeds are projected to exceed the capabilities of existing wired networks, the need for optimized multi-Gigabit Ethernet solutions is clear. Combining the Aquantia AQrate AQR409 multi-rate PHY with Microsemi’s SparX-IV enterprise switch provides a highly optimized solution to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to address this challenge,” said Kamal Dalmia, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Aquantia. “As a result, we expect our new joint reference platform with Microsemi to accelerate the adoption of multi-Gigabit bandwidth over existing network cabling, while enabling enterprises to cost-effectively address information technology (IT) concerns.”

Aquantia collaborates with Microsemi as part of the Accelerate Ecosystem, designed to reduce time to market for end customers and time to revenue for ecosystem participants. Microsemi’s Accelerate Ecosystem brings together leading silicon, intellectual property (IP), systems, software and design experts to deliver validated board and system-level solutions for end customers. Learn more at http://www.microsemi.com/design-support/accelerate-ecosystem-partners.

About Microsemi’s SparX-IV L2/L3 Enterprise Switch, VSC7448

Providing a rich set of enterprise Ethernet switching features, the VSC7448 SparX-IV-80#8482; device is an 80G SMB/small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) industrial Ethernet switch with up to 52 ports supporting a combination of 1G, 2.5G and 10G Ethernet ports. Using multistage Versatile Content Aware Processing (VCAP#8482;), it delivers virtual local-area network (VLAN) and Quality of Service (QoS) processing that enables delivery of differentiated services, security through intelligent frame processing and egress frame manipulation.

For industrial applications, VSC7448 integrates VeriTime#8482;, Microsemi’s patent-pending timing technology that delivers highly accurate IEEE 1588 network timing and synchronization implementation. A powerful 500 MHz central processing unit (CPU) enables full management of a Layer 2 and Layer 3 Ethernet switch solution, and a comprehensive API and software development package accelerates time-to-market for managed Ethernet applications. The software API package also integrates seamlessly with third-party software, preserving existing software investments. Learn more at
https://www.microsemi.com/products/ethernet-solutions/ethernet-switches/vsc7448-52-port-l2-l3-enterprise-gigabit-ethernet-switch-with-10-gbps-links.

About Microsemi’s PD69208M PoE PSE Manager and Clock Management ICs

The PD69208M PoE PSE manager is future-ready for IEEE 802.3bt, supporting data rates up to 10G. Microsemi’s clock management portfolio provides ultralow jitter devices for clock synthesis, frequency conversion, jitter attenuation and fan out buffers to reduce bill of material costs and board space requirements, improve performance reliability and simplify design complexity.

About Aquantia’s AQrate AQR409

The Aquantia AQrate AQR409 is a low power, high performance three-speed, quad-port PHY housed in a 19x19mm flip-chip ball grid array (BGA) package. AQrate technology bridges the bandwidth gap between legacy cabling infrastructure designed for 1 Gbps data rates, and emergent 802.11ac WLAN technology offering bandwidth in excess of 1 Gbps. The AQR409 delivers 2.5 Gbps, 1Gbps and 100 Mbps line rate speeds through 100 meters of Cat 5e or Cat 6 cabling so enterprises can grow their 802.11ac WLAN infrastructure with zero change to legacy cabling.

All AQrate PHYs are compatible with the NBASE-T Alliance PHY specification and the IEEE#174; 802.3bz standard to perform all the physical layer functions required for transmission over 100 meters of twisted pair cabling. They also support the IEEE 802.1AE MAC-layer security (MACsec) protocol, the IEEE 1588 v.2, the Precision Time Protocol (PTP) to synchronize real-time clocks to sub-microsecond accuracy, Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) to reduce operating power and Power over Ethernet (PoE) up to 60W.

Product Availability

The production-ready multi-rate switch reference platform from Microsemi and Aquantia is available now. For more information, visit https://www.microsemi.com/company/2-5gbps-wifi-aggregation or email sales.support@microsemi.com.

About Microsemi’s Product Portfolio for Communications

Microsemi is a premier supplier of semiconductor, system and services differentiated by performance, power reliability and security. Microsemi enables customers to build solutions in a range of applications including Ethernet switches, 100G Ethernet and optical transport network (OTN), cellular infrastructure including LTE-Advanced and 5G, small cells, microwave and millimeter wave systems, Wi-Fi access points, XGS PON or NGPON2 based converged wireline access, broadband gateways including fiber/PON, G.fast and DOCSIS3.1, and home/on-premise security/surveillance. Microsemi’s communications portfolio includes high accuracy timing and synchronization including IEEE1588 PTP and NTP servers, software and components; low jitter PLL and high fan-out buffers, enterprise and carrier Ethernet switches and PHYs, voice and audio intelligence including AEC and ASR, lowest power FPGAs with high security and reliability; PCI Express Switches, OTN PHYs and processors, optical drivers, integrated Wi-Fi front-end modules (FEM) and power-efficient and multi-standard Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) ICs and systems, and G.hn, G.fast and xDSL line drivers. For more information, visit http://www.microsemi.com/applications/communications.

About Aquantia

Aquantia is a leading developer and global supplier of high-speed semiconductor connectivity solutions. Backed by more than a decade of technology leadership and execution, Aquantia’s market-leading product portfolio enables the world’s most innovative computing, data center, and enterprise infrastructure applications. Aquantia addresses ever-changing market needs by providing an extensive line of products, based on architectural innovations that deliver high-performance, low-power consumption, high-density and high-quality silicon solutions to its customers. Aquantia is headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, with strong venture capital and strategic investors. For more information, visit www.aquantia.com.

About Microsemi

Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor and system solutions for communications, defense security, aerospace and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and synchronization devices and precise time solutions, setting the world’s standard for time; voice processing devices; RF solutions; discrete components; enterprise storage and communication solutions, security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products; Ethernet solutions; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and midspans; as well as custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., and has approximately 4,800 employees globally. Learn more at www.microsemi.com.