Related Product Information

In This Issue
   DSP Solutions
High-Powered Ideas - TI's
   new TMS320C67x
TI to acquire Amati Corp.

   Leading the Digital Revolution 15 years of DSP
TI DSP Firsts
Redefining how the
   world communicates
Honoring partners in innovation
TI DSP Solutions in action
Building for the future
TI DSP Resources
Going digital?
   Don't forget analog
Working Together

   Memory
TI sampling new memory
   for volume PCs

   Mixed-Signal and Analog
New PCI-to-CardBus controllers
   add high-speed access to
   portable systems

   Networking
A Switch for the future
ThunderSWITCH II
   architecture unveiled

   Wireless
Wireless: Keeping the world
   connected
TI to provide Java-enabled
   DSP Solutions

A Switch for the future

TI recently strengthened its commitment to meet the future needs of networking switch designers with the technology disclosure of the TNETX3270 ThunderSWITCH™ 24/3. Planned for release the first quarter of 1998, the 27-port 10/100 Mbps device is the second ThunderSWITCH product TI has announced in the last two months tailored for the switching market.

It is designed to meet the demanding cost and connectivity requirements of the corporate desktop environment. These driving market needs include full-duplex performance, zero packet loss and compatibility with the latest IEEE standards.

The TNETX3270 meets or exceeds all of these requirements cost effectively, further fueling the replacement of repeaters with high-performance switches. Functionally, it features 24 full-duplex 10 Mbps ports and three full-duplex 10/100 Mbps uplink ports. Designers will have the ability to combine the three uplink ports into a single, high-performance uplink channel for a 600 Mbps switch-to-switch connection.

A close look at the ThunderSWITCH 24/3 Features and benefits Comprehensive design support program Lower system cost by reduced device count High-speed uplink scalability (up to 600 Mbps) Non-blocking bandwidth Faster time-to-market Port trunking

For more information about TI's ThunderSWITCH product family, visit the website at www.ti.com/sc/docs/network/nbuhomex.htm.

In addition, the ThunderSWITCH 24/3 will be flexible enough for either a low-cost, unmanaged environment or a sophisticated, enterprise-wide managed environment. When used in an unmanaged environment, the bill of materials will simply be the switch, physical layer (PHY) devices, packet memory and an 8-pin serial EEPROM to configure the switch. When used in a managed environment, the ThunderSWITCH 24/3 will be capable of cost effectively supporting Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Spanning Tree 802.1D and all nine levels of Remote Monitoring (RMON) through the support of an optimized, dedicated central processing unit (CPU) interface.

TI offers a complete system solution with the ThunderSWITCH 24/3 device, including all the components for the PHY connections with a 3-V Octal 10 Mbps synchronous PHY (TNETE2008) device and a single-chip 3-V 10/100 Mbps PHY (TNETE2101) device. For 10 Mbps connections, a synchronous PHY interface will enable a high-port density switch solution to eliminate more than 150 pins. TI will achieve this without limiting the ability of the switch to quickly scale into more cost-effective semiconductor processes, guaranteeing a competitive cost structure over several years. This optimized 10 Mbps interface shares many of the same concepts as the Reduced Media Independent Interface (RMII).

Network system designers will be able to evaluate the TNETX3270 with a reference kit, including a 24/3 Ethernet switch reference platform, schematics, Gerber files, data sheets, applications notes, software, ordering information and other useful product collateral. The reference kit is intended to accelerate original equipment manufacturer (OEM) time-to-market and to provide an easy-to-use evaluation method for the device. For more information about ThunderSWITCH 24/3 and the reference kit, contact your local field sales office.

ThunderSWITCH is a trademark of Texas Instruments.