Microsemi and Aquantia Introduce Multi-Rate Switch Reference Platform

Microsemi, a leading provider of semiconductor solutions and Aquantia, a pioneer in high-speed Ethernet connectivity solutions; have announced a production-ready multi-rate switch reference platform. It has been optimised to support 24×2.5G and up to additional four 2.5G/5G/10G BASE-T ports. The solution integrates 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™802.3bz PHY, AQR409. 

 

The target applications include 1G, 2.5G and 10G Ethernet switching and aggregation. The joint reference design is ideal for enterprise infrastructure applications like enterprise, small and midsize business (SMB) switches, enterprise access routers, as well as wireless local access network (WLAN) access point (AP) switches.

 

Aquantia’s collaboration with Microsemi is 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.

 

 

The VSC7448 SparX-IV-80™ 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. It makes use of multistage Versatile Content Aware Processing (VCAP™) to deliver virtual local-area network (VLAN) and Quality of Service (QoS) processing.

 

 

The PD69208M PoE PSE manager supports data rates up to 10G. Microsemi’s clock management portfolio provides ultra low jitter devices reduce bill of material costs and board space requirements, improve performance reliability and simplify design complexity.

 

 

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.

 

 

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. 

 

 

Microsemi Corporation 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.