Altera Partners with Nuvation to Develop Complete Gigabit Ethernet to OC-192 Solution

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Altera Corporation (Nasdaq: ALTR), and Nuvation Research Corporation today announced an agreement to develop a complete Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) to OC-192 solution. The solution will aid in the development of systems that can transport data between high-speed local networks and existing optical infrastructure used for long-haul and metro area communications systems. Nuvation, which also joins the Altera Megafunction Partners Program today, is working with Altera and Intel Corporation to complete what will be the industry's first bridge between Intel's multiport Gigabit Ethernet MAC's and OC-192 POS/GFP Framer devices using the SPI-4 Phase 2 interface.

"Carriers want to be able to transport multiple Gigabit Ethernet signals over existing SONET/SDH infrastructure efficiently and cost-effectively. This solution will allow telecommunications equipment manufacturers to build equipment that enables their customer, the carrier, to meet these requirements," said Joergen Bardenfleth, general manager of Intel's Optical Components Division. "Through the collaboration of Altera, Nuvation and Intel, this solution will be available this quarter."

While GbE is becoming the preferred communications protocol for LAN backbones, Network Storage, and other high-speed networking requirements, system developers need solutions to move the data over long haul and metro area network architectures that were designed to carry voice data on a SONET/SDH ring topology. Nuvation's GEOS-10i intellectual property core will bridge these protocols and topologies to enable multi-channel GbE traffic over SONET at up to 9.953Gigabits per second, or OC-192 speeds, in Altera's APEX(TM) II and Stratix(TM) devices.

"The key to rapidly developing such a solution is the availability of interoperable IP cores from both Altera and Nuvation," said Michael Worry, CEO of Nuvation. "Both the Altera POS-PHY Level 4 MegaCore® function and the Nuvation GEOS-10i Core utilize the Atlantic(TM) on-chip interface, which significantly reduces the integration time."

"This solution is a direct result of Altera's successful partnering programs, including the AMPP(SM) program and the Certified Design Centers, of which Nuvation is also a member," said Bob Beachler, senior director of business development at Altera. "From the first customer identification, the companies have worked in partnership, across companies and divisions, to develop this solution for the benefit of our mutual customers."

Nuvation Geos-10i Megafunction

This solution includes Intel's IXF1110 10x1Gigabit Ethernet MAC, Intel's IXF18101/2 OC-192c POS and GFP Framer, and Altera's APEX II and Stratix devices. The Altera device performs channelization/dechannelization between the 10 channels of Gigabit Ethernet and General Framing Protocol (GFP) of the OC-192 Framer, utilizing Nuvation's GEOS-10i Gigabit Ethernet to SONET IP Core, which is available now on the Altera IP Megastore(TM) web site. License fees are $25,000 for a netlist version.

The GEOS-10i IP Core can multiplex and de-multiplex up to ten Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) datastreams into a single OC-192c channel. The Intel devices offer the SPI-4 Phase 2 interface on its System side. Communication between the Intel devices and the APEX II device is done using Altera's POS-PHY Level 4 core, also known as SPI 4.2. Other GEOS-10i features include Jumbo Packet support, configurable destination port address, compliance with Frame Mapped Generic Framing Procedures from ITU-T, and GbE Traffic statistics per port.

Altera POS-PHY Level 4 MegaCore

Altera's POS-PHY Level 4 MegaCore function (POSPHY4) interfaces high-speed cell and packet transfers between physical (PHY) and link-layer devices. The POSPHY4 supports bandwidth rates up to SONET OC-192, and 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) Ethernet rates. The POS-PHY Level 4 MegaCore function is licensed for $17,995.

About Atlantic

Altera's standardized Atlantic datapath bus simplifies the task of bridging otherwise incompatible devices. The Atlantic bus is a simple, supported, on-chip data path bus, which enables the rapid integration of IP cores.

About Altera's Stratix and APEX II Devices

Stratix devices are based on a 1.5-V, 0.13-micron, all-layer copper SRAM process, with densities ranging from 10,570 to 114,140 logic elements (LEs) and up to 10 Mbits of RAM. Stratix devices support various differential I/O electrical standards such as the LVDS, LVPECL, PCML and HyperTransport(TM) standards, as well as high-speed interfaces, including the UTOPIA IV, SPI-4 Phase 2, SFI-4, 10G Ethernet XSBI, RapidIO(TM), HyperTransport and other interfaces. More technical information about the Stratix device family is available at www.altera.com/stratix?xy=001_3.

Building on the successful APEX architecture, the APEX II device family marks a breakthrough in capability and system performance that places programmable logic directly in the data path of high-performance communication applications. The APEX II architecture also provides up to 1.1 Mbits of internal memory creating the ideal solution for memory-intensive applications, such as packet processing. Additional details on the APEX II device family can be found at http://www.altera.com/products/devices/apex2/ap2-index.html .

About Altera

Altera Corporation is the world's pioneer in system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions. Combining programmable logic technology with software tools, intellectual property, and technical services, Altera provides high-value programmable solutions to approximately 14,000 customers worldwide. More information is available at http://www.altera.com .

About Nuvation

Nuvation is a leading Electronics Design Services (EDS) firm that provides licensable IP Cores as well as ASIC, FPGA, board, and firmware design services for the embedded systems industry. Nuvation's experience spans industries such as Communications, Consumer Electronics, Medical, and Security/Defense. Nuvation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IAR Systems (OMX: IAR). More information is available at http://www.nuvation.com/ .

NOTE: Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized Altera logo, specific device designations, and all other words that are identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. HyperTransport is a trademark of the HyperTransport Consortium. RapidIO is a trademark of the RapidIO Trade Association. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holder.

CONTACT: Bruce Fienberg of Altera Corporation, +1-408-544-6397, or newsroom@altera.com.