Chip drives Ethernet backplane applications and SFP+ optical interfaces

With 3 M ports expected to be sold in 2010, 10-Gigabit Ethernet is starting to really take hold. Targeting this area, the 26-port MB86C69RBC 10GbE switch IC features direct connection for Ethernet backplane applications, standardized as 802.3ap (10GBase-KR), as well as SFP+ optical module capability.

The chip¡¯s 35 x 35-mm package integrates advanced Ethernet Layer-2, data-center bridging, QoS, VLAN and QinQ, and Layer-3 capabilities, a 2.9-Mbyte buffer memory, and PHYs for all ports. Along with 26 multirate 10-GbE single-lane ports, it has a pair of 10/100/1,000-GbE management ports.

The IC consumes only 22 W under full-load conditions, supplies 520 Gbits/s of nonblocking aggregate switching capacity in cut-through and store-forward operating modes, and has an overall system switching latency of only 300 ns, said to be the lowest in the industry. A reference design will soon be available. (From $15 to $25 each in high volume¡ªsamples available June.)