contents | products | |||||||
| Broadcom's New 16-Port 2.5 Gigabit Single-Chip Switch Broadcom Corporation has announced a new 16-port 2.5 Gigabit single-chip switch that uses existing Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) network infrastructure to deliver simultaneous 1 Gigabit Ethernet (1GbE) and 2.5 Gigabit connectivity in blade servers. The new Broadcom StrataXGS III 2.5 Gigabit switch works in conjunction with Broadcom's popular NetXtreme II converged network interface controller (C-NIC) to provide the industry's only 2.5 Gigabit end-to-end networking infrastructure solution that is optimized for blade servers. IT managers need to add capacity to existing 1GbE blade servers to effectively handle the increase in the converged network traffic (i.e. IP-based storage, clustering, management and data networking) that is creating a bottleneck in today's network. Broadcom's new 2.5 Gigabit switch addresses this problem by providing more than two times the bandwidth of 1GbE, while offering features such as low latency, multi-layer switching, IPv6 routing, and deep-packet inspection, which are crucial for network management and quality of service (QoS). Announced product is the StrataXGS III BCM56580, a 16-port 2.5 Gigabit/1GbE multi-layer single-chip switch that includes 4 ports of 10GbE. The device features auto-negotiation of both 1GbE and 2.5 Gigabit, which allows each port to simultaneously support either 1GbE or 2.5 Gigabit speeds, and enables individual deployment of blades in a plug-and-play fashion. Also featured within the BCM56580 is the Broadcom ContentAware engine, which provides deep-packet inspection (Layers 2 - 7), allowing the switch to identify and prioritize various types of traffic including IP-based storage, clustering, management and data networking. The StrataXGS III BCM56580 provides key features required for blade servers including: * Cut-through switching for reduced overall system latency * Integrated SerDes and on-chip buffer and table memory that reduce bill of materials (BOM) cost and save board space * Eight classes of service (CoS) per port for traffic prioritization * Full IPv6 routing support for streamlined network management * Advanced QoS for converged networking applications. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Networking News :: home page |