PR Newswire
Sep 30, 2003 20:30 ET

Cascade Semiconductor Solutions, Inc. Announces Plans to Support Advanced Switching Technology in 2004

SAN JOSE, Calif., Communications Design Conference, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Cascade Semiconductor Solutions, Inc. (cascadeip.com), a leading supplier of intellectual property for the PCI Express market segment, has announced plans to develop and integrate Advanced Switching technology in their CascadeXpress(TM) PCI Express IP product line. Cascade will enhance their industry leading PCI Express IP cores to address customers' needs for Advanced Switching solutions. Cascade has joined the Arapahoe Working Group (AWG) and intends to join the Advanced Switching Interconnect SIG alongside many other industry leading companies collaborating to develop and support the Advanced Switching specification.

Cascade's PCI Express Port Logic IP is shipping to a customer base addressing a broad range of applications including test & measurement, networking, wireless, storage, and switching applications requiring PCI Express connectivity. The cores are applicable to both ASIC and FPGA technology.

The CascadeXpress(TM) architecture is flexible and easily extensible to meet the requirements of end-users developing interconnect solutions that will leverage the benefits of the Advanced Switching specification. The Port Logic IP currently implements the transaction, data link and physical layers of the PCI Express base specification for end-point, switch/bridge, and root port applications. By providing Advanced Switching extensions to the Port Logic IP base implementation, Cascade's customers will realize a significant time-to-market advantage in achieving their PCI Express and Advanced Switching product objectives.

Advanced Switching leverages the benefits of the physical and link layer functionality of PCI Express technology, and includes a transaction layer specification allowing for solutions needing to meet the needs of a broad range of networking protocols and traffic profiles. The architecture includes capabilities to enable developers to implement solutions that meet the QoS/CoS and high-availability requirements of the communications interconnect market segment.

"Supporting Advanced Switching is a logical extension of our PCI Express technology and aligns well with our Port Logic architecture," said Jing-fan Zhang, president of Cascade. "We continue to see the market for PCI Express base IP expand. The integration of Advanced Switching capabilities will enhance our portfolio of IP solutions for our customers in the communications and storage market.

"IP cores are fundamental to bringing any new technology to market," said Rajeev Kumar, president of the Advanced Switching Interconnect SIG and Advanced Switching Technology manager at Intel "Cascade's support for Advanced Switching technology along with that of other companies will help to accelerate the adoption of Advanced Switching in the industry and highlights the advantages of technology re-use between PCI Express and Advanced Switching."

Website: http://www.cascadeip.com