LSI GbE PHY reduces power, cost of server and switch systems

BANGALORE, INDIA: LSI Corp. today announced a new generation of gigabit Ethernet (GbE) PHY silicon technology for server, desktop, mobile and networking switch applications. Now in its fourth generation, the LSI Energy-Efficient GbE PHY provides the industry’s lowest-power GbE technology in the smallest size, enabling OEMs to dramatically reduce chip count, energy consumption and bill of materials cost.

Escalating power costs and upcoming ENERGY STAR compliance guidelines from the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy are driving IT and telecommunications equipment manufacturers to build more power-efficient products.

Substantial economies in energy consumption can be achieved by the deployment of “multi-rate” devices, which are capable of ramping down during periods of inactivity. The LSI Energy-Efficient GbE PHY transitions to low-power mode in the absence of data traffic, yet immediately returns to full speed when traffic resumes.

Since the online traffic continues to escalate, both high performance and low power consumption are essential to the mass deployment of next-generation, energy-efficient Ethernet networks. The LSI GbE PHY is capable of reducing Ethernet switch power consumption by more than 30 percent, and it is available now for implementation in custom integrated designs. It is also backward compatible with existing Ethernet standards, which allows for rapid migration.

"Private enterprises and government agencies can meet the demands of growing network traffic and impending federal guidelines by accelerating their plans to upgrade to high-performance, low-energy networks,” said Jim Anderson, vice president of geographic sales and marketing, Semiconductor Solutions Group, LSI. “Our customers are implementing the new LSI GbE PHY to meet those demands today.”