Companies Demonstrate High-density Mezzanine Card for Rapid Deployment of
Ultra-thin Data Center Interconnects
TAMPA, Fla. - SuperComputing 2006 Conference - Nov. 14 /Xinhua-
PRNewswire/ -- Quellan, a leader in analog signal integrity devices and
Fulcrum Microsystems, a leader in high performance interconnect devices,
today announced the industry’s first extended reach CX4 mezzanine card. The
card is for use with the Fulcrum FocalPoint switch reference design, which
will allow OEMs to attain up to 40 meters of reach on up to 24 ports of 10-
Gigabit Ethernet seamlessly.
"Increasing the reach of 10G Ethernet at an attractive price point will
help accelerate its adoption in the data center," said Harry Quackenboss,
Chairman and CEO of Woven Systems. "Quellan’s Lane Manager devices drive
copper cable distances substantially farther than the standards specify,
minimizing the need for expensive fiber optic interconnects."
The mezzanine cards are populated with Quellan’s QLx4300 Lane Manager
Chips that actively remove impairments and compensate for channel loss,
allowing data center managers to use ultra-thin 30 gauge CX4 cabling for
increased airflow, density and manageability or extend the reach of
traditional 24 gauge cable to up to 40 meters.
"Signal integrity and low latency are critical parameters for next
generation data centers," said Joel Goergen, Chief Scientist at Force10
Networks. "Quellan’s products address both these issues in a very low power
consumption device. Well done!"
The FocalPoint FM2224 is a breakthrough 10-Gigabit Ethernet switch chip
with 200ns of total latency, making Ethernet the new cost-effective and high-
performance choice for storage, computing and networking backplane and
interconnect applications. The FM2224 features 24 integrated 10-Gigabit
Ethernet interfaces, each of which can be configured to operate in 10Gbps,
2.5 Gbps and 10/100/1000 modes.
"Our customers are eager to reduce weight and improve density in their
data center interconnects," said Bob Nunn CEO of Fulcrum. "Our collaboration
with Quellan has yielded a ready-to-go solution to address these issues."
"Clearly, next generation data center interconnects are challenged by
reach, weight and density issues -- and the only way to achieve this is with
low power, smart silicon at each end," said Tony Stelliga, Chairman and CEO
of Quellan, Inc. "Next generation high density switches can now run up to 4
times farther on cabling that is just one third the size and weight of
existing copper interconnects."
Quellan is demonstrating both its Q:ACTIVE(TM) semiconductor technology
for active cabling and its mezzanine card in booth 235 at the 2006
SuperComputing Conference in Tampa, Florida to address the growing need for
data center reach and density improvements.
About Fulcrum Microsystems, Inc.
Fulcrum Microsystems Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company focused on
developing interconnect switch chips for next-generation board and system
designs. The company’s devices change the paradigm for interconnect,
offering low latency, fine-grained flow control and high throughput, which
combine to simplify board design and to build in more flexibility and higher
performance. More information can be found at http://www.fulcrummicro.com .
About Quellan Incorporated
Quellan specializes in analog components that improve the performance and
functionality of electronic equipment by removing channel impairments and
noise. Quellan serves the Enterprise, Telecom, Broadcast, Automotive and
Consumer Electronics markets. Privately held, Quellan’s investors include
Menlo Ventures, Cordova Ventures and Samsung Ventures Investment Corporation.
For more information call 408-774-0084 or visit http://www.quellan.com .