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networkZONE Products for the week of September 6, 2004
Parama Networks Says…
Parama Networks PNI8010 ADM-on-a-Chip Enables Low
Cost OC-48/STM-16 SONET/SDH Equipment
ADM-on-a-Chip product line now extends from 10G to 160G of
circuit capacity based on common architecture - from legacy to next-gen
networks
Parama Networks has introduced its PNI8010, the latest "system
on a chip" device in their patented ADM-on-a-Chip (AoC) family. Parama's
AoC is transforming SONET and SDH networking by placing all the functions
of a full-featured add/drop multiplexer (ADM) on a single CMOS IC. Complementing
the previously introduced PNI8040 and PNI8160 AoCs, the new device incorporates
eight programmable tributary interfaces to run at OC-3/12 or STM-1/4 rates,
two OC-48/STM-16 line interfaces, and 10 G of non-blocking cross-connect.
Like the other members of the family, the device is extremely power efficient,
drawing less than 4 watts.
Parama developed the AoC to assist the telecomm OEM (original equipment manufacturer) community with the urgent task of developing highly efficient and lower-cost equipment for "next-generation" SONET or SDH services (e.g., "packet over SONET"), multi-service provisioning platform (MSPP), and multi-service transport platform (MSTP) applications.
"Our goal is to commoditize the transport network silicon," said Hemant Bheda, CEO of Parama Networks. "The PNI8010 is the latest in a planned string of product announcements in pursuit of that goal. This chip brings us a step closer to enabling the '$5000 ADM' that we discussed at Supercomm. Our network equipment customers are counting on us to drive cost out of the network equipment so that they can compete effectively in next-gen SONET/SDH equipment deployments, and in hotly contested growth markets such as India and China."
"The ADM-on-a-Chip is an impressive achievement, and the new 8010
will help ADM manufacturers build metro edge and core products. It is a
natural complement to Parama's higher-capacity ADM-on-a-Chip products introduced
earlier," said Michael Howard, Principal Analyst and Co-Founder of
Infonetics Research. "I am impressed that, in addition to fully-compliant
SONET and SDH functionality, the centralized architecture supports 50 msec
mesh restoration and per-service protection for efficient data transport."
analogZONE Says . . .
Parama's new "right-sized" ADM-on-a-chip is an important development because its ability to support OC-48/STM-16 line interfaces should help bring the cost of enterprise-class SONET/SDH access gear within spitting distance of IP-based equipment. While their original heavy-duty OC-192/768 product (reviewed earlier this year) slashed the cost of carrier-class boxes, the PNI8010 should make it much easier to bring the benefits of low-cost SONET access equipment to enterprise networks and other edge access applications.
But putting the entire ADM function on a single chip does more than simply cut costs. The "centralized architecture" (Parama's term) allows for more efficient management and coordination of essential functions like protection switching or management of multi-service QoS. Signaling between ADM elements is also simplified, allowing implementation of things like GMPLS with little or no cost.
Happily, downsizing these chips does not mean they bring any less functionality to the party. The PNI8010's OC-48/STM-16 line interfaces are connected to eight programmable tributary interfaces to run at OC-3/12 or STM-1/4 rates via 10 Gbits of non-blocking cross-connect fabric. Like its bigger siblings, it currently relies on external FPGA-based logic for overhead processing and support of the Generic Framing Protocol (GFP) that provides efficient EoS service.
Reliable sources say that we can probably expect these off-chip functions to migrate onto the main chip in Parama's next generation of silicon. Hopefully, those next-gen products will still provide the same access to all overhead bytes that allows the current FPGA-based overhead processor to work with its development software to enable value-add customization of features and functionality for product differentiation.
The PNI8010 also shares the same hardware hooks and support software required to implement the unique meshed SONET architecture that Parama has co-developed with Telcordia Labs. According to Parama, a meshed network would enable deterministic link restoration that mimics ring behavior during the restore operation. I'm not sure whether meshed SONET will be as critical in the edge applications that this lower-speed part is intended for, but given the rapidly-evolving nature of the market, I'm sure somebody will make good use of it.
The potential number of sockets for these products are at least an order of magnitude greater than their high-powered brethren since many large businesses, institutions, and residential broadband operators are now employing connections running at, or close to the speed of its OC-3 tributary connections. At roughly $350 in high volumes, the PNI8010 should help to drive the cost of SONET/SDH access equipment close to that of IP-based products. Parama anticipates manufacturers will see BOMs of $2800 for a basic ADM using today's component costs, so a retail proce of $9 - $10 k is not hard to imagine. This compares extremely favorably to the $25 - $30 k for traditional low-end ADMs. And if Parama's estimates of the steadily-dropping prices of the optical interfaces are correct, their prediction of a $5-k retail price for an OC-48 ADM by early 2006 should come to pass.
But regardless of the precise numbers, the low cost of a Parama-based ADM box or blade should allow carriers and service providers to leverage existing infrastructures for multi-service delivery at competitive rates. I also expect to see applications like a DSLAM or cable distribution node equipped with a Parama-powered line card that can aggregate OC-3 edge traffic for multiplexing into a 2.5 Gbit/s SONET stream. Other applications include 3G wireless traffic back haul, and an ADM blade that would provide a low-cost upgrade path for existing OC-3 and OC-12 equipment.
The existence of working silicon running at 8x the speed, along with several credible design wins yield a respectably low Vapor Index Rating for the PNI8010: especially considering the size and complexity of the chip.
The PNI8010 is production sampling now and is in a BGA-831. Pricing will be about $350 in high volumes.
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