NETWORKS

Once primarily needed by government and university researchers, 10 gigabits-per-second (10 Gbps) connectivity is increasingly required for computationally intensive applications in corporate data centers. For businesses such as financial institutions, high technology firms, and energy providers, this means faster transaction rates, higher data throughput, and quicker application response times. Unfortunately, currently available solutions are too expensive or unwieldy for mainstream corporate data centers to achieve 10 Gbps transmission rates between server farms, routers and switches, and storage equipment KeyEye Communications, Inc., the leading provider of 10 Gbps copper media transceivers, is enabling the rapid adoption of cost-effective 10 Gbps connectivity by delivering a new family of single-chip transceivers. This new family of transceivers supports high-performance computing and corporate data center applications by offering reliable and cost-effective 10 Gbps performance over commonly available structured copper cabling. One member of the product family provides 10 Gbps Ethernet connectivity; another transceiver provides InfiniBand connectivity; and a third transceiver is designed to link stackable networking switches. The new transceiver family uses KeyEye’s innovative EchoWave architecture to achieve long reach, low latency, and low power consumption. This groundbreaking architecture combines proprietary adaptive signal processing techniques and advanced mixed-signal circuit design to increase performance on copper cable interconnects. Advanced equalization and noise cancellation algorithms ensure highly reliable data transmission over structured copper cabling. “KeyEye products allow system integrators to link data center systems using commonly available, lightweight, and flexible structured copper cabling rather than using expensive fiber optic solutions or unwieldy special cabling,” noted Harvey Scull, KeyEye President and CEO. “Also, by extending reach up to 30 meters, our newest family of transceivers allows developers to build larger scale clusters and expand their network, computing, and storage resources.” New KeyEye Transceiver Family KeyEye introduced a family of single-chip 10 Gbps transceivers for structured copper cabling on November 14. The initial members of the family include the KX1000 for linking stackable switches, KX1001 transceiver for Ethernet, and the KX1003 transceiver for InfiniBand applications. These devices are designed to enable data centers to use the cost effective copper infrastructure to accelerate the adoption of 10 Gbps links. The KX1000 is a single-chip solution targeted at stackable Ethernet switch and other intra-system link applications. The new device enables low-cost 20 Gbps stacking links using readily available Category 6 cables and RJ-45 connectors. The KX1000 provides up to 10 meters of reach on structured copper cabling, consuming less than 3.4 watts of power. The KX1001 is a single-chip solution aimed at Ethernet and other 10 Gbps interconnect applications. The new transceiver provides up to 25 meters of reach on structured copper cabling, a distance that covers more than 90 percent of the interconnect cable lengths currently deployed in data centers. The device consumes less than 3.7 watts of power. The KX1003 is the industry’s first 4X InfiniBand transceiver capable of supporting full-duplex operation for up to 30 meters, using industry-standard structured copper cabling. Designed for InfiniBand switches and host channel adapters (HCAs), the new transceiver offers 10 Gbps performance with a latency of less than 200 ns. Power consumption is less than 3.5 watts