Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 16, 2005 — Tundra Semiconductor Corporation (TSX:TUN), the leader in System Interconnect, today launched the Tsi564ATM serial RapidIO switch. This product marks another significant milestone in the ongoing development of the RapidIO ecosystem and further extends Tundra’s leadership in RapidIO System Interconnect. The Tsi564A builds on the patent-pending technology of the Tundra Tsi568ATM, launched in February 2005, enabling reliable and high performance RapidIO interconnect in a smaller footprint for cost effective systems.
Both the Tsi568A and the Tsi564A deliver the performance, power and configurability that enable embedded designers to build reliable, high performance communications systems for a broad spectrum of telecom, video, imaging and networking applications. With a smaller footprint than the Tsi568A, the Tsi564A offers low power, multiple port-widths and speed configurations, making it ideally suited for applications where power, cost and board space are primary concerns. This switch interconnects serial RapidIO enabled processors and peripheral devices, supporting an aggregate bandwidth of 40 gigabits per second.
RapidIO, the leading interconnect standard for embedded systems, addresses the embedded industry’s requirements for complex systems, high reliability, and increased bandwidth, in intra-system interconnect. Tundra’s switch fabric portfolio, including the Tsi500™ , Tsi568A and Tsi564A, enables customers to upgrade their current systems and provides scalable solutions across multiple product portfolios.
“The addition of the Tsi564A to Tundra’s serial RapidIO switch family is an important addition to the RapidIO ecosystem for our high performance TMS320C6455 digital signal processor (DSP),” says Thomas Brooks, DSP Platform Marketing Manager at Texas Instruments. “Designers can leverage the flexibility of a C6455 DSP cluster and Tsi564A switch solution to achieve maximum architectural scalability for a wide range of media processing, telecom and high resolution imaging applications.”
“The Tundra Tsi564A serial RapidIO switch provides the performance required by increasing I/O bandwidth found on next generation processors,” says Paul Mesibov, Director of Engineering at Pentek Inc. “The Tsi564A switch and TI’s C6455 DSP with integrated serial RapidIO provide a range of solutions that optimize performance, power efficiency, and the flexibility required for our next-generation platforms.”
“Given the numerous product announcements so far this year, the RapidIO Interconnect standard is set to enjoy significant acceptance in 2005 based on its flexible design and support from leading players in the embedded marketplace,” said Jag Bolaria, Senior Analyst at The Linley Group. “The addition of a second Tundra serial RapidIO switch adds greater depth to the RapidIO ecosystem.”
“By introducing a lower cost, smaller footprint switch backed by our industry leading support tools, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to enabling our customers’ success in advanced System Interconnect,” says Rick O’Connor, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Product Management at Tundra. “Tundra continues to develop System Interconnect products that build on our innovative switch fabric technology, providing increased performance and configurability not feasible with proprietary bus-based architectures.”
Tsi564A AVAILABILITY & PRICING
The Tundra Tsi564A will be available through Tundra’s worldwide sales network in June 2005. Documentation, including ordering information, user manuals, and software drivers, is available at www.tundra.com. Volume pricing for the Tsi564A is under $59 USD.
Tsi564A PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Using 0.13-micron technology and integrated SerDes functionality, the Tsi564A Serial RapidIO Switch is a semiconductor chip that will be used in many embedded communications applications. It provides chip-to-chip interconnect between processing and input/output devices and can replace existing proprietary backplane fabrics for board-to-board interconnect.
Highly configurable for tailored solutions:
Up to four 4x links
Up to eight 1x links
Supports 1.25, 2.5 and 3.125 GBaud rates
Configurable on port width and speed
Port power down
Programmable SerDes
High-performance:
More processing power-per-watt through distributed processing
Low latency and cut through (port-to-port without interruption)
Full duplex, line rate termination, non-blocking fabric
Prevention of head-of-line blocking
CRC handing for hardware-based error recovery
Advanced packaging:
Pb-free packaging (lead-free) available
Integrated XAUI SerDes
Small 21 x 21 mm package, 399 ball
About Tundra
Tundra Semiconductor Corporation delivers standards-based System Interconnect for use by the world’s leading communications, networking, storage system, and information technology vendors. Tundra System Interconnect allows customers to link critical system components while compressing development cycles and maximizing performance. Applications include wireless infrastructure, storage networking, network access, military applications, industrial automation, and information technology. For more information, please visit www.tundra.com.
