Building further on its world class HomeBASE family of digital subscriber line (xDSL) end-to-end solutions, LSI Logic Corporation today announced a trio of next generation ADSL2 and ADSL2+ capable network processors designed to provide high performance, cost effective solutions for an entire spectrum of ADSL customer premise equipment (CPE) manufacturers.
The network processors are partnered with a new ADSL2+ capable SpeedREACH analog front-end (AFE), the AR8204. The higher data rate enabled by the ADSL2+ standard is capable of doubling the downstream data rates to over 20 Mbps over loops shorter than 8,000 feet, allowing for delivery of superior broadband services such as DVD-quality broadband content and video-on-demand.
"The DSL market is striving to increase the availability of service and retain customers with new applications, and ADSL2+ is a logical and welcome step," said Mike Wolf, principal analyst, Consumer Content and Connectivity, In-Stat/MDR. "With today's need for time-to-market and restrained design resources, system designers are looking for highly integrated solutions, and LSI Logic is offering direct savings to their bottom line. The ADSL2+ HomeBASE solution offers manufacturers unique flexibility and performance capabilities to help service providers deliver a more comprehensive offering of enhanced broadband services such as home networking and gaming."
The HomeBASE AR902 ADSL2+ Ethernet network processor integrates the DMT engine with a 200 MHz ARM922 processor, a hardware-based ATM SAR, a USB port and a SDRAM controller that provides the network processor with access to high-bandwidth, high-capacity bulk memory. The high level of integration of the AR902 significantly reduces the overall system bill-of-materials of ADSL modem manufacturers.
The HomeBASE AR922 ADSL2+ SOHO network processor integrates an ARM1026 running at 250 MHz with DDR SDRAM and NAND Flash support, plus a crypto co-processor providing hardware acceleration for IPSEC applications and is especially well suited for residential gateways. The AR922 has two Ethernet ports, a USB master and separate USB slave interface. For customers requiring an alternate configuration, the HomeBASE AR942 replaces the two Ethernet ports with an internal five-port switch. Both the AR922 and AR942 feature a PCI bus for further expansion including glue-less connection to mini-PCI 802.11a/b/g WiFi chipsets.
The new HomeBASE ADSL2+ network processors connect to the AR8204; a sixth-generation SpeedREACH analog front end (AFE) that is compatible with all ADSL standards including the 2.2 MHz ADSL2+ standard and all annexes of the ADSL2+ via flexible on-chip analog filtering. The AR8204 contains an integrated five-volt line driver and a 14-bit linear analog-to-digital plus digital-to-analog converter. The AFE's input referred noise floor of -160 dBm/Hz is the lowest in the industry. The performance advantage of the AFE helps to build a robust and high-performance modem with higher data rates and extended reach.
"Our new family of HomeBASE ADSL2+ chipsets adds features and functionality that will help drive the success of this new standard in the global market," said Steve Ellwood, director of DSL product marketing, LSI Logic. "By offering a spectrum of two-chip solutions that are cost-effective, scalable and flexible, we are giving telcos the performance they need to get to market quickly with products that support new applications, services and deployment scenarios like the distribution of software and video."
The new network processors are fully software compatible with previous HomeBASE devices and backward compatible to the ADSL standard. LSI Logic offers a choice of operating systems, including Windows CE, VX Works and the royalty-free Linux operating system. LSI Logic HomeBASE solutions include all the hardware and software needed for bridge, router or gateway functionality.