Tabula, MorethanIP and NetLogic to develop sub-$500 programmable 100Gb Ethernet solution

Interop 2011, LAS VEGAS, USA: Tabula, MorethanIP and NetLogic Microsystems announced the industry’s first complete programmable 100Gb Ethernet solution that can be deployed cost effectively in production with price points below $500.

The complete, ready-to-use solution from Tabula consists of Tabula’s I-100 100Gb Ethernet-to-Interlaken bridging device embedding MorethanIP’s silicon-proven Interlaken and 100G Ethernet MAC and PCS IP cores, and NetLogic Microsystems’ NLP15142-T 100GE PHY devices. The solution enables effective deployment of high-speed networking and storage equipment products with no additional IP costs and at a radically lower price than competing solutions.

“Our 100G Ethernet IP cores are well proven in over 10 ASIC and FPGA systems with leading system companies. Now optimized for Tabula’s ABAX 3PLD devices, they enable a cost-effective programmable solution that can be used in volume production,” said Francois Balay, MorethanIP CEO and founder.

“Thus far, users wanting to build those systems had to choose between a multi-$1,000 programmable solution, and a lower-cost but inflexible and expensive to develop ASIC-based solution.”

The NLP15142-T 100GE PHY solution from NetLogic Microsystems features an innovative architecture and advanced circuit technologies to provide high 100GE density, low jitter and lower power consumption. The NLP15142-T PHY solution connects seamlessly to the Tabula I-100 device, and supports the 100Gbps transmissions over at least 40km on single-mode fiber (SMF) cabling, at least 100m on OM3 multi-mode fiber (MMF), or at least 10m over a copper cable assembly.

“Our NLP15142-T PHY solution provides a best-in-class performance and power profile when combined with Tabula’s I-100 programmable 100GbE solution,” said Stefanos Sidiropoulos, Vice President of Physical Layer Products at NetLogic Microsystems. “Our industry-leading PHY solution enables carriers, service providers and data center owners to seamlessly upgrade their networks to support 100Gbps speeds in a flexible and cost-effective manner.”

“Our ABAX 3PLD devices make it possible to deliver complete ready-to-use 100G Ethernet solutions which are both cost effective and flexible. For example, with its 5.5Mbytes of on-chip memory, ABAX enables the integration of a large frame buffer, removing the need for external DDR memory, and improving overall system performance,” said Alain Bismuth Tabula VP of Marketing.

“This cooperation between leaders such as MorethanIP, NetLogic Microsystems, and Tabula sets an example for how to bring complete solutions to the market, quickly and cost effectively, while preserving the customers’ ability to differentiate their solutions through hardware customization.”

The I-100 device embedding MorethanIP’s IP cores will be available in Q3 2011. The complete solution, comprising Tabula’s I-100 device and three of NetLogic Microsystems’ NLP15142-T PHY devices will be priced below $500 in unit quantities of 10,000.