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In a confusing world of networking standards and alternatives, TI's ThunderNET architecture clarifies the perplexity.
ThunderNET is the industry's first architectural approach to Ethernet, token ring, high-speed Ethernet and ATM networks. It offers several important benefits to original equipment manufacturers and information systems managers.
ThunderLAN's intelligent protocol architecture offers designed-in upgradability, with support for 10Base-T, 100Base-T and 100VG-AnyLAN Ethernet from a single high-performance architecture. A built-in 10Base-T physical layer interface (PHY) supports direct 10-Mbps connection to the twisted-pair cables most commonly used in Ethernet networks today. For ease of design in PCs, servers, and other LAN equipment, ThunderLAN devices interface to the high-speed Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) bus.
ThunderLAN's software drivers take full advantage of the silicon's architectural features, such as adaptive performance optimization, which dynamically allocates internal resources to balance wire speed versus processor speed and provides benchmark performance while keeping latency and CPU utilization to a minimum.
The ThunderLAN family is growing quickly, with conversion to 3-V operation, high-speed PHYs and single chips integrating high-speed PHYs planned. Epilogue Technology Corporation has agreed with TI to provide networking vendors a version of its Remote Network Monitor (RMON) and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) software that supports the ThunderLAN silicon architecture.
TI's ThunderCELL architecture emphasizes high performance, conformance with emerging standards and provides an evolutionary path from classic LANs to ATM networks. The ThunderCELL family of ATM products addresses desktop, hub, server and WAN gateway equipment.
The basic and most common ATM implementation supports throughput
of 155 Mbps. TI's HyperSAR TNETA1570 Segmentation and Reassembly
(SAR) device meets this requirement, and can be cascaded to support
more than 200 Mbps, a higher throughput than any similar product.
HyperSAR is targeted at Ethernet and token ring hubs and LAN and
enterprise switches that have an ATM interface or backplane. The
HyperSAR design adapts to existing networking environments, enabling
the continuing use of classic equipment and services and supporting
gradual evolution to ATM.
ThunderCELL's highly integrated 155-Mbps functionality is also
available to network interface card (NIC) OEMs in the TNETA1560
SBus SAR and the TNETA1561 PCI SAR. A physical layer using the
ATM standard Utopia interface is provided in the TNETA1500. Other
ThunderCELL products support ATM networks operating at 622 Mbps,
for extremely high-performance.
TI has strengthened its industry leadership in token ring networking by creating a solution that integrates both the network control and PHY functions. This chip, the TI380C30, designs seamlessly into PCs with the aid of TI's 380PCI interface device. The 'C30 has already brought higher performance at lower cost to token ring systems.
Planned product enhancements for TI's token ring product family include 3-V operation and integrated support for token ring switching.
February 1996, vol. 13, no. 1