Framers cut costs in multiservice platforms

TranSwitch has added two new members to its Phast family of VLSI solutions for Sonet/SDH transport - the Phast-12N (TXC-06312) and Phast-12P (TXC-06412) multirate PHY framers.

TranSwitch has added two new members to its Phast family of VLSI solutions for Sonet/SDH transport - the Phast-12N (TXC-06312) and Phast-12P (TXC-06412) multirate PHY framers.

These devices allow customers to develop next generation platforms that are fully Sonet/SDH standards compliant and easily integrate with other members of the TranSwitch Phast and EtherMap product lines.

The result is improved performance intelligence, advanced protection, simplified design, reduced development time, faster time to market, and significant cost savings for communications OEMs.

Phast-12N and Phast-12P are designed to provide complete system level solutions for OC-12 and 4xOC-3 telecomms and datacomms applications with the robust protection required by carriers.

This functionality is enabled through an embedded nonblocking VC-3/STS-1 level crossconnect which provides intelligent traffic grooming, a feature unique to the industry.

An APS port enables OEMs to implement 1+1, 1:1, and 1:n architectures.

The Phast-12N is targeted primarily at access and metro edge applications for TDM and EoS transport, whereas the Phast-12P is targeted at ATM and POS applications.

The framers can terminate either a single STM-4/OC-12 line (622Mbit/s) or four STM-1/OC-3 lines (4 x 155Mbit/s).

Clock, data recovery, and clock synthesis for these lines are incorporated.

Like the other members of the Phast family, these devices also provide regenerator/section and multiplexer/line overhead processing, high order pointer tracking and retiming, payload path overhead processing, high order path and line loopbacks, and performance monitoring.

The new Phast devices empower OEMs to build next generation multi-service platforms or upgrade existing platforms to retain carrier-grade capabilities in installed Sonet/SDH networks.

Applications include add/drop and terminal multiplexers, multi-service access platforms, DSLAMs, dual fibre or linear multiservice/line protection applications, ATM and packet switches, edge routers, and customer premise access platforms.

"The Phast-12N and Phast-12P framers incorporate the key functionality our customers require for their next generation platforms to be competitive", stated Rob Schwaber, TranSwitch Product Marketing Manager for the Phast and EtherMap lines.

"These new devices expand our strong portfolio of Phast solutions and, together with our EtherMap line, enable us to provide complete board-level solutions to OEMs for adding new services." The Phast-12N is designed to interface directly with TranSwitch's new EtherMap-12 Ethernet mapper for Ethernet-over-Sonet/SDH (EoS) applications.

This framer in combination with EtherMap-12 provides a powerful multi-service solution for delivering combined TDM and Ethernet traffic over a Sonet link.

The Phast-12P interfaces directly with the Aspen Express ATM service processor and Envoy Ethernet controllers for data access applications.

This device in combination with Aspen Express or Envoy products provides a complete network uplink solution for ATM or IP-based access equipment.

Software support for the new framers is achieved via an innovative modular architecture for their API-based device drivers.

This approach allows users to compile only relevant components, saving considerable time and resources.

The software driver configures, controls, and manages the device as well as collects and delivers fault and performance monitoring data, offloading the host processor for other system tasks.

Both Phast-12N and Phast-12P are packaged in 376-pin 23 x 23mm plastic BGAs.

With the introduction of these two new devices, customers have a choice of single- or multirate solutions for STS-12/STM-4 and STS-3/STM-1 rates for TDM, packet, or multiservice applications.

The Phast family of products offers VLSI devices priced from under $50/unit up to $250/unit in production volumes, depending on specific application requirements.

Phast-12N and Phast-12P will be sampling to customers in Q3 2003.

Back to top