LSI Unveils Energy-Efficient Gigabit Ethernet PHY for Server and Switch Applications

LSI Corporation, a provider of silicon, systems and software technologies, has rolled-out a new generation of energy efficient gigabit Ethernet (GbE) PHY (physical layer) silicon technology for server, desktop, mobile and networking switch applications.

In general, an Ethernet subsystem is divided into two parts: the media access controller (MAC) and the physical device (PHY or line interface). Generally, the MAC handles generating and parsing physical frames and the PHY handles how this data is actually moved to or from the wire. The PHY is just a means of transmitting raw bits rather than logical data packets over a physical link that are connecting network nodes.

Booming power costs coupled with upcoming ENERGY STAR (News - Alert) compliance guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy has compelled manufacturers in the IT and telecommunications to develop more power-efficient products. In this regard, many companies are deploying multi-rate devices, which are capable of going to low-power mode during periods of inactivity.

According to LSI, its new energy efficient GbE PHY, which is in its fourth generation, can reduce networking switch power by nearly 30 percent. It has a small footprint and transitions to low-power mode in the absence of data traffic and immediately returns to full speed when traffic resumes. This feature facilitates OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to dramatically reduce chip count, energy consumption and bill of materials cost.

High performance and low power consumption are key factors affecting mass deployment of next-generation, energy-efficient Ethernet networks. In this regard, LSI’s GbE PHY is not only capable of reducing Ethernet switch power consumption, but is also backward compatible with existing Ethernet standards that facilitates in 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."