NetLogic With Dual-Port 8.5Gb FC PHY Devices

NetLogic Microsystems, Inc. announced the production availability of the NLP1220 dual-port 8.5Gbps FibreChannel PHY repeater device with an integrated low-power equalization engine.  

The NLP1220 offers best-in-class power consumption and latency to customers developing next-generation data center switches and storage Host Bus Adapters (HBAs).  

The NLP1220 PHY device offers superior transmit and receive jitter performance as a result of the integrated high-performance LC phase locked loop circuit and an advanced second-order clock-and-data recovery (CDR) design. Moreover, NetLogic Microsystems’ unique granular power-down modes for the transmit, receive and equalizer circuitry, combined with an innovative analog/digital hybrid architecture, provide customers with industry-leading low power and low latency profiles, making it ideal for high-density data center applications.

As the industry’s first dual-port Fibre Channel repeater with 2/4/8G capability as well as the first device with a dual-receiver analog front end, NetLogic Microsystems’ NLP1220 PHY device integrates the receiver and transmitter SerDes functions on a single chip with on-chip clock drivers, multiple loop-back features and PBRS generation and verification for both the line side and system side.  The integrated low-power equalization engine doubles the reach of FibreChannel signals on PCB traces and cables, supporting up to 15 meters on 24/26 AWG cables and up to 10 meters on 30 AWG cables.

“Our NLP1220 product extends our 10 Gigabit Ethernet SerDes technology and market leadership into the enterprise storage and data center markets,” said Stefanos Sidiropoulos, vice president of the Physical Layer Products at NetLogic Microsystems.  “We are excited to see the strong interest for our new Fibre Channel PHY product from multiple customers.”

The NLP1220 PHY device is currently available in a compact, RoHS-compliant 12x12mm BGA package with industry-standard 1mm ball pitch for ease of manufacturability. NetLogic Microsystems has completed interoperability testing of the NLP1220 device with leading 8G FibreChannel controllers, backplanes, direct-attached cables and SFP+ modules.