Date: 17/04/2012

Two new EEE based 10GBASE-T PHY ICs from Broadcom consume <2W per port

Broadcom Corporation has announced the addition of two 10GBASE-T physical layer transceivers (PHYs) to its 10GBASE-T networking solutions. Optimized for top-of-rack switches, 10GbE server adapters and LOMs (LAN on motherboard) in the data center, the integrated quad-port BCM84844 and dual-port BCM84846 lower operating power by more than 50 percent. The new PHYs consumes less than two watts power per port at 10GE through the use of energy efficient Ethernet (EEE). Broadcom's 2nd generation 40 nanometer PHYs in 10GbE offers operation over 100 meter cables.

Broadcom's AutoGrEEEn technology enables systems with legacy MACs to get the power savings of EEE in periods of reduced link utilization. Both PHYs provide on-chip IEEE802.1ae MACsec link layer security and 1588v2 precision time protocol (PTP), delivering precise and accurate synchronization of nodes in the network.

Broadcom's BCM84844 and BCM84846 deliver lower power and offer pin compatibility with earlier Broadcom's BCM84834 and BCM84836.

Market drivers:
Global IP traffic expected to grow twenty-fold by 2016
10GBASE-T adoption to increase 20x by 2013
10GbE port shipments expected to reach 62.2M in 2016 from 8.5 M in 2011
Massive traffic growth challenges current network architecture

Features:
· Supports IEEE Std 802.3az-2010 energy efficient ethernet (EEE) capability for 10GBASE-T, 1000BASE-T and 100BASE-TX
· Operation over 100m category 6A cables with industry-standard 4-pair magnetics
· IEEE standard device interoperability: 10 Gbps, 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps
· Broadcom AutoGrEEEn technology extends EEE power savings to legacy MACs at both
· 1 and 10 Gbps data rates
· Line-side XFI enables dual-media applications
· Footprint with 27x27mm (BCM84844) and 21x21mm package (BCM84846)

The BCM84844 and BCM84846 are now sampling with production volume slated for 2H12.