Vancouver, British Columbia-based PMC-Sierra Inc has come out with what it claims is the industry’s first public network-compliant Asynchronous Transfer Mode physical layer offering. The S/UNI-155-PLUS chip specifically addresses the requirements of Network Node Interface, which specifies a superset of the requirements for the User Network Interface and is used primarily as an interface between nodes within public Asynchronous Transfer Mode networks. The company said key applications include Multi-Channel 155Mbps port boards for Asynchronous Mode edge and core network switches. Features include integrated clock recovery and synthesis, and full access to all Synchronous Optical Network or Synchronous Digital Hierarchy overhead bytes. It is available now and the device costs $105 in high volume quantities. The company has also released what it claims is the industry’s first Quad ATM Physical Layer interface chip, the PM7344-RI S/UNI-MPH. This enables designers to provide T1/E1 Asynchronous Mode interface offerings with at least three times higher density than currently available alternatives, while lowering the cost per channel, said the company. Features include integrated quad T1 and quad E1 framers, T1/E1 DLC data link processing, a quad Asynchronous Mode cell processor and an 8-bit, 25MHz Utopia-compliant ATM-PHY Layer cell interface. Available now, it costs $125 in large quantities.
