Broadcom Demonstrates 10 Gigabit Ethernet Bi-Directional Performance Using PCI Express® 2.0 at Intel Developer Forum


Utilizing Four Lanes of PCI Express(R) 2.0, Broadcom(R) Controller Achieves 10 Gbps Bi-Directional Line Rate, Delivering Twice the Speed of PCI Express(R) 1.1 Products

SAN FRANCISCO, INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, Sept. 18 / / - Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that it will demonstrate 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) bi-directional line rate network performance at this week's Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco. This is a first of its kind demonstration that uniquely delivers 10 Gbps (Gigabits per second) bandwidth bi-directionally utilizing only four lanes (x4) of PCI Express(R) 2.0 (PCIe 2.0), greatly reducing system resource requirements for 10 Gbps Ethernet controllers.

The demonstration at IDF features the Broadcom(R) BCM57710 converged network interface controller (C-NIC) in conjunction with the advanced PCIe 2.0 host bus interface on an Intel next-generation server platform. Using only four lanes of the PCI Express interface, Broadcom delivers bi-directional line rate performance to the host server that provides a performance gain two times greater than that achieved with products utilizing the previous generation of PCI Express technology. The 10GbE bi-directional performance over four lanes of PCIe 2.0 will be demonstrated in Booth #435 as part of the I/O Application Acceleration Community at IDF.

The BCM57710 can support up to eight lanes of PCIe 2.0 or PCIe 1.1 and enables either 5 Gbps or 2.5 Gbps data rate per lane. Equivalent functionality previously required eight lanes of PCIe 1.1 bus connectivity that doubled the amount of signaling overhead in previous generation server systems.

"Broadcom is committed to delivering leading-edge technology in our server controllers to achieve the highest level of performance possible," said Vinod Lakhani, Senior Director and General Manager of Broadcom's High-Speed Controllers line of business. "Broadcom's ability to support PCIe 2.0 in our 10GbE controller solution will enable our server OEM customers to leverage higher bus speeds for their next-generation server platforms."

"We are pleased to demonstrate PCI Express 2.0 functionality on Intel(R) Xeon(R) 45nm architecture with Broadcom's 10GbE C-NIC at this year's Intel Developers' Forum," said Jim Pappas, director of Technology Initiatives at Intel Corporation. "PCIe 2.0 increases bus speeds from 2.5 Gbps to 5 Gbps per lane enabling much higher I/O densities for next generation servers."

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art, system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).

Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2006 revenue of $3.67 billion, and holds over 2,200 U.S. and 900 foreign patents, more than 6,600 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video and data. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.

Broadcom(R), the pulse logo, Connecting everything(R) and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Intel(R) and Xeon(R) are trademarks of Intel Corporation. PCI Express(R) is a trademark of PCI-SIG Corporation. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Source: Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Enterprise Networking

CONTACT: Technical, Burhan Masood, Product Line Manager, Server Controllers, +1-949-926-8634, bmasood@broadcom.com, of Broadcom

Web site: www.broadcom.com/

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