Semiconductor solutions specialist Broadcom announced the StrataConnect Series of switch system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for small- and midsize-business (SMB) networks. The SoCs combine Layer 2 and Layer 3 (L2/L3) switching, 16 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) physical layer transceivers (PHYs), 10 GbE and high-performance central processing unit (CPU) onto one piece of silicon.
Key features include scalable table sizes and advanced security features to support increasing numbers of voice over IP (VOIP) and wireless deployments and cloud-based network management. The solution also has an ARM-based CPU integrated on-chip to scale with cloud-based applications, integrated 10GbE ports for connecting to high-speed servers and for high-bandwidth applications deployed in SMB networks, and power-saving techniques such as burst and batch control policy and LED-intensity controls.
The StrataConnect Series of switch SoCs, including the BCM53333, BCM53334, BCM53344 and BCM53346 devices, are currently sampling with volume production slated for the first half of this year. The announcement comes as many SMBs are adopting cloud services and deploying advanced IP-based applications. According to reports by IT research firms Gartner and IDC, SMB spending on public cloud services is expected to grow to $32 billion by 2015.
“For small to medium businesses, cloud services have quickly become a critical way to deliver leading technology without the complexity of big IT,” Derek Lam, Netgear vice president of engineering, SMB switching and wireless, said in a statement. “As a result, scalable switching solutions with advanced features are now more important than ever. It is essential that semiconductor suppliers address these trends with products optimized for SMB networks.”
The company also released a line of SoC solutions optimized to address workforce mobility and evolving network requirements in the enterprise. Broadcom’s StrataXGS BCM56340 Series delivers a range of features designed to simplify the provisioning and monitoring of mobile user traffic while providing secure, high-speed connectivity to the data center and cloud-computing storage resources.
Key features include app-IQ distributed security intelligence for high-bandwidth Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) for highly granular application visibility, integrated Smart-Buffer capabilities to provide optimal, adaptive management of network congestion and absorption of bursty workloads, and Integrated Smart-Table technology for delivery of large Layer 2 and Layer 3 forwarding scale with flexible, network topology-based provisioning.
“Mobile device use in the enterprise continues to scale at a dramatic rate, straining the network in terms of bandwidth, data security and connectivity to services. IT managers are seeking solutions to enable a considerably more agile and secure network,” Ram Velaga, vice president and general manager of Broadcom’s core switching group, said in a statement. “Our new StrataXGS devices are designed from the ground up to address these challenges, delivering maximum stackable port density and performance, distributed security intelligence and unified switching across LANs, WLANs and data centers—all in a single-chip solution.”