Cortina Releases Arsenal

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Cortina Systems, a leader in integrated high speed digital and analog silicon technology, announced today the release of the Arsenal™ application specific standard product (ASSP), the world’s densest multirate framer and mapper IC for Ethernet switch and router applications. Cortina’s 10Gb/s and 2.5Gb/s framer ICs are already deployed by a number of customers worldwide, and now Arsenal eliminates the need for multiple line card developments by enabling a single solution with its SONET, SDH, and Ethernet compliant functionality. As a result, Arsenal will enable significant reductions in line card engineering, time to market and inventory management costs for Ethernet and SONET/DH equipment manufacturers.

As Ethernet enters the metro transport market, Arsenal allows system vendors to deliver Gigabit Ethernet connectivity on all ports in addition to POS, with each port’s configuration under software control. In the Arsenal IC, all eight ports independently support multiple rates ranging from OC-3 / STM-1 to OC-48 / STM-16 and multiple mappings including POS, GFP, Ethernet and ATM. Incorporating industry standard SPI-4.2 and SPI-3 interfaces, Arsenal connects to existing packet engines and interfaces directly to pluggable SFP optical modules, so it is ideally suited for routers and WAN interfaces on switches.

“Cortina has taken integration, density and flexibility of WAN ports to a higher level with Arsenal,” said Zino Chair, Cortina’s vice president of marketing. ”Our customers have been requesting a single device with increased density and more port flexibility to reduce inventories of card types and the need for multiple developments, and Arsenal delivers.”

Cortina Systems Inc.