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KB3001
I agree Dr DSP. Very high bandwidth seems to be Achronix' main competitve ...
Dr DSP
Looks like Achronix might have found a nice niche for their very high speed ...
Achronix, Opticomp demo 40-Gbit/s networking kit
Peter Clarke
8/30/2010 11:33 AM EDT
LONDON – Achronix Semiconductor has teamed up with optical module supplier Opticomp to produce a development system for optical data communications.
Achronix Semiconductor Corp. (San Jose, Calif.) has supplied its field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) on its Bridge100 board and with Opticomp Corp. (Zephyr Cove, Nevada) produced a 120-Gbit/s multi-port system that is expandable to 160-Gbit/s and can be used with individual optical modules or with multiple 40-Gbit/s optical paths connected together into a network.
The Bridge100 System offers three 40-Gbit/s ports and twelve 10-Gbit/s ports together with additional expansion ports and four HDMI transmit and receive pairs. The board provides up to 32-Gbytes of buffering and nine SPD60 FPGAs.
When used as a stand-alone test system, the primary roles of the Bridge100 for this application are data generation, formatting, and checking. When used with external traffic sources and destinations, as in an operational data network, its primary roles are classification, storage, retrieval and transmission.
Related links and articles:
FPGA startup crunch: Is Achronix flush enough?
Xelerated extends 100GE broadband reach
AMCC buys networking firm Tpack
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Dave.Dykstra
8/31/2010 1:13 AM EDT
This is interesting but no mention is made of cost for the development system, much less what the cost would be for an installed system including the optical cables, transmitters, receivers, etc., needed to build a functional system. The concept itself is intriguing but cost is a critical factor in deployment and acceptance.
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Dr DSP
8/31/2010 6:15 PM EDT
Looks like Achronix might have found a nice niche for their very high speed FPGAs. Optical networking will take as much bandwidth as you can give it and then still want more.
Notice that the board has 9 Achronix FPGAs on it. You don't typically see boards like this from Xilinx or Altera. Maybe Achronix has found their sweet spot in this performance hungry market.
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KB3001
9/23/2010 4:11 PM EDT
I agree Dr DSP. Very high bandwidth seems to be Achronix' main competitve advantage, so optical/networking is a very good fit.
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