Altera and Modelware to Launch Advanced Switching Solution at Intel Developer Forum

Intel Developer Forum, San Francisco, Calif., September 7, 2004 „ŸAltera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) and Modelware, Inc., a member of the Altera® Megafunction Partners Program (AMPPSM), today launched an Advanced Switching (ASI) solution at the Intel Developer Forum. Designers integrating the Modelware ASI intellectual property (IP) core into Altera?fs Stratix® GX FPGA family will be able to interface network processors, traffic managers, and other devices to ASI endpoints and switches. The solution leverages the flexibility of programmable logic to make it easier for designers to bridge between existing protocols with ASI. Advanced Switching is a standards-based switching technology based on the PCI Express architecture, designed for connecting system boards and components in future generations of communications, storage, and embedded products.    

?gThe Advanced Switching core is a key element of our communications IP portfolio that provides Altera customers with an extensive set of interface, protocol, and bridging solution cores,?h said Anthony Dalleggio, Modelware?fs vice president of marketing. ?gThe combination of our ASI core and Altera?fs Stratix GX devices will deliver to customers a complete and proven ASI solution.?h  

The Modelware ASI core includes the physical layer, data link layer, and transaction layer functionality, enabling the development of complete end-point and switch solutions. The core is designed for high performance and can be configured to support up to eight 2.5-Gbps lanes, providing 20 Gbps of aggregate bandwidth. The core utilizes the Stratix GX device?fs 3.125-Gbps transceiver technology that integrates serializer/deserializer (SERDES), clock data recovery, 8B/10B encoding, and Tx/Rx first-in first-out (FIFO) buffers. 

?gModelware?fs extensive experience in the communications industry makes them a natural partner for developing a product based on ASI,?h said Jack Ogawa, senior director of solutions marketing at Altera. ?gProviding complete flexible ASI development solutions is a crucial part of Altera?fs strategy to accelerate the design and development of high-speed serial I/O communications systems.?h Altera is an associate member in the Intel® Communications Alliance, and of the Advanced Switching Interconnect Special Interest Group (ASI SIG), an organization chartered with providing a switched fabric interconnect standard.

?gAdvanced Switching brings the cost and performance advantages of PCI Express technology to the rapidly growing serial backplane market segment,?h said Rajeev Kumar, president of the ASI SIG and switch fabric initiatives manager at Intel. ?gFPGAs and intellectual property blocks are key products that will help foster quick adoption of any new technology, and the product announcement by Modelware and Altera is one example of the momentum behind Advanced Switching throughout the industry.?h

A preliminary version of the ASI solution is being demonstrated for the first time at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Calif., today until September 9 at booth No.1120. The demonstration platform is a fabric interface mezzanine card developed by Altera that allows two 2.5-Gbps Intel IXP2400 network processors to communicate over an Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA) backplane using ASI.

About the Stratix GX Device Family

The Stratix GX family, Altera?fs second-generation embedded transceiver family, is based on a 0.13-micron process technology with 1.5-V core voltage. Stratix GX devices have up to 20 embedded 3.125-Gbps transceivers and up to 45 differential I/O pins with dedicated dynamic phase alignment (DPA) capability supporting up to 1-Gbps source-synchronous data transfers. For more information about the Stratix GX device family, visit www.altera.com/stratixgx/.     

About the ASI SIG

The Advanced Switching Interconnect SIG (ASI SIG) is a non-profit collaborative trade organization tasked with developing and supporting a switched interconnect and data fabric interface specification for communications, storage and embedded equipment, termed Advanced Switching Interconnect, based on the PCI Express architecture. The ASI SIG?fs board of directors and members, comprised of industry-leading equipment manufacturers and semiconductor and tools vendors, has surpassed 50 members to date. In addition to ongoing technical development of the specification, these member companies help to define, develop, and market ASI. Different membership levels provide differing levels of influence, involvement, and responsibility. The overall tasks performed by the members of the SIG include establishing broad industry awareness, ongoing technical development and enabling rapid industry adoption through training programs, ecosystem development and interoperability and compliance testing. The board of directors includes Agere, Alcatel, Huawei, Intel, Siemens, Vitesse and Xilinx. More information can be found at www.asi-sig.org.

About Altera

Altera Corporation is the world?fs 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 www.altera.com.

About Modelware, Inc.

Modelware is a leading provider of semiconductor intellectual property (SIP) cores for telecom and networking ASIC and FPGA applications. Its highly scalable products provide semiconductor and system OEM customers a compelling value and enable them to bring standards-compliant products to market faster. Modelware also offers standard-bridging products that provide interoperability solutions between different interface standards. By offering design services that complement its standard product offering, Modelware provides customized solutions that exactly match the customer?fs application. Modelware?fs products and services are backed with an exceptional level of support that is available to customers throughout their product design cycle. For more information, visit www.modelware.com.

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