Marvell introduces 100GbE Gearbox with MLG support

     Marvell has announced the Marvell Alaska C 88X5111, a fully integrated 100GbE Gearbox offering multi-link Gearbox (MLG) functionality. The device enables 100Gbps full-duplex transmission, performing all the physical layer functions required for a variety of media, including single-mode and multimode fiber modules, backplanes, and passive and active direct copper cables. The 88X5111 line side interface fully complies with IEEE 802.3BJ requirements and supports Reed Solomon Forward Error Correction (RS-FEC) for 100G-CR4, 100G-KR4, and 100G-SR4 requirements. Supports the self-negotiation and coefficient training protocol required by the IEEE 802.3 standard. The 88X5111 has begun shipping samples to customers worldwide, either as a stand-alone PHY device or in conjunction with the Marvell exchange chip.

     Michael Zimmerman, corporate vice president and general manager of Marvell's Connectivity, Storage and Basic Networking (CSI) business group, said: "The 88X5111 further demonstrates Marvell's commitment to delivering a range of reliable solutions for next-generation data center and enterprise networks with full functionality, higher integration and lower power consumption." The 88X5111 is the latest addition to our Alaska C series and supports all 100GbE media types, including 100G-LR4 and SR4 optical cables, 100G-KR4 backplanes, and 100G-CR4 passive copper cables, providing deployment flexibility critical to end users. In addition, the 88X5111's integrated MLG capabilities enable next-generation switched ASics with 25G/s I/O, enabling energy-efficient, cost-effective 10GbE and 40GbE ports."

     Manufactured in a 28nm process and 17mm x 17mm package, the 88X5111 is a fully integrated single-chip Ethernet transceiver that performs all the physical layer functions required by the 100Gbps Ethernet Gearbox function on a variety of media and can drive 100Gbps full-duplex transmission. Its MLG capability meets the requirements of the OIF MLG 2.0 specification and is capable of aggregating 10 separate 10Gbps Ethernet streams or two separate 40Gbps Ethernet streams onto a single 4 x 25Gbps stream. The 8X5111 can also connect to a 10 x 10Gbps CAU-10Mac or switching chip via its host interface. These transmit driver and receiver equalization capabilities clearly exceed the CAU-10 specification requirements and meet the 10GBase-KR specification requirements.

     The 88X5111 line interface is fully compliant with the IEEE 802.3BJ standard, which defines the physical layer specification to operate at 100Gbps on backplanes and copper cables. The device supports RS-FEC functionality and the automatic negotiation and parameter training protocols required by the 802.3BJ standard. In addition, the internal registers can be accessed through a serial management interface, which conforms to the IEEE 802.3 specification. The device includes an internal PRBS generator as well as Ethernet packet generator and loopback line test capabilities to aid in testing and debugging.