Product category:
Programmable Logic Devices
News Release from: Actel Europe | Subject: SX-A
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 11 January 2005
FPGA opens the door for next-generation
designs
UTStarcom has selected Actel's antifuse-based SX-A field-programmable gate array as a controller on the CPU control board of its market-leading mSwitch and 3G products.
UTStarcom, a leading global supplier of IP access networking solutions and international service and support, has selected Actel's antifuse-based SX-A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) as a controller on the CPU control board of UTStarcom's market-leading mSwitch and 3G products Matching the performance of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and the ability to generate system-wide savings by integrating multiple functions into a low-cost, single-chip solution, Actel's SX-A device provides UTStarcom with a flexible combination of high speed and low price, reducing the premium for performance, while providing a solution highly secure from reverse engineering
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 23 Jun 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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"Actel's SX-A FPGA opens the door for our next-generation designs that we could not previously implement in programmable logic", said Brian Chen, Senior Hardware Engineer and Project Leader at UTStarcom in Shenzhen, China.
"The capabilities and performance allow us to get the mSwitch platform to market faster, more securely and at a lower cost".
Actel's A54SX72A is an integral part of UTStarcom's mSwitch platform, which is a cost-effective, flexible and highly scalable network solution.
Further reading
Cores optimised for FPGA families
4i2i Communications has optimised its Viterbi and Reed-Solomon encoder and decoder IP cores for use with Actel's ProASIC Plus, Axcelerator, SX-A and RTSX-S FPGAs.
FPGAs improve graphical control
Marine cartography specialist C-Map has adopted Actel's SX-A FPGAs for use in its marine navigation system offerings.
Cores turn FPGAs to PowerPC interfacing
Eureka Technology has optimised three PowerPC interface IP cores for use with Actel's nonvolatile ProASIC Plus, Axcelerator, SX-A and RTSX-S FPGAs.
Combining centralised data management with distributed processing over a unified IP-based infrastructure, the mSwitch network consists of three key elements: multiprotocol media gateway, softswitch server complex and web-based operations and support systems (OSS).
Incorporating a set of gateway functions, the mSwitch allows operators to implement a network migration strategy that meets their network requirements.
Like all UTStarcom solutions, mSwitch enables service operators to migrate from legacy systems to next-generation solutions seamlessly without service disruptions, while simultaneously reducing operation and investment costs.
"We rigorously assessed a number of FPGA solutions, including Xilinx's Spartan II and Altera's Cyclone, but we chose the SX-A from Actel because of its robust hot-swap specification and the high-level of customer support available to us in Shenzhen", continued Chen.
"In order to keep the down-time of the mSwitch to a minimum, it's essential that we can insert and remove the CPU board from the system during maintenance and upgrades without turning off the power".
"The CorePCI IP delivers this option and is highly secure and customisable and can be tightly integrated with the other logic on the board".
UTStarcom designs, manufactures, sells and installs an integrated suite of future-ready access network and next-generation switching solutions.
The company enables wireless and wireline operators in fast-growth markets worldwide to offer voice, data and Internet access services rapidly and cost-effectively by using existing infrastructure.
UTStarcom's products are currently being deployed by more than 800 of the 2400 local telecomms bureaus in China, with over 50 million wireline and wireless lines installed.
UTStarcom operates from more than 20 locations in China, from Beijing to Nanjing and Shanghai to Zhengzhou.
Actel's CorePCI connects I/O, memory and processor subsystem resources to the main system via the PCIbus.
CorePCI is intended for use with a wide variety of peripherals where high-performance data transactions are required.
The interconnections within SX-A FPGAs are extremely small and densely distributed throughout the device, and do not leave an observable signature that can be electrically probed or visually inspected.
With these safeguards, Actel's SX-A devices are practically immune to copying and reverse engineering.
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