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Texas Instruments TImeline Technology Defines the Next Level of High-Speed Networking

"Switch-on-a-Chip" Among Many Possible Applications

DALLAS (Oct. 21, 1996) -- Texas Instruments (TI) recently announced 0.18-micron TImeline Technology combined with the company's architectural approach to networking provides OEM partners with the tools to leap 1-2 generations ahead in high-speed internetworking products. These products will provide unlimited bandwidth at a much lower cost point than today's products.

While it is conceptually possible today to integrate switch, router and WAN uplink functions on a single chip, TI's 0.18-micron TImeline Technology will make this both practical and cost-effective. To achieve this goal, TI will leverage its recently announced 0.18-micron ASIC products and its networking architectural expertise to address the networking market with ASIC products, standard products and reusable engineering in the form of system-level core functions. Future products will be available in 1997 and will vastly improve the system designer's ability to produce better products faster.

With 0.18-micron TImeline Technology, the advanced traffic management capabilities and sophisticated network management functions required to support tens and hundreds of gigabits per second throughput will be implemented in silicon. These functions have historically been implemented in software, but the required level of performance and sophistication of products that leverage the 0.18-micron technology performance will require a hardware solution made possible by TImeline integration.

"TI's 0.18-micron technology can pack 125 million transistors onto a single piece of silicon. This means revolutionary advances in switching integration and performance, providing box-level functionality on a chip," explained Greg Waters, director of TI's Network Business Unit. "Quite simply, 0.18-micron technology and TI's investment and proven expertise in networking systems form the most compelling networking roadmap in the semiconductor industry."

Putting Time on the Customer's Side: Benefits for Enterprise Networks

TI's 0.18-micron technology will offer unprecedented levels of integration, which will result in tremendous functionality in very small form factors, but this is useful only if the customer is able to get his product to market on time. TI has invested millions of dollars into its Networking Technology Center (NTC) for interoperability and system integration testing. Equipment from over 50 networking equipment vendors is housed in TI's NTC test lab for the sole purpose of getting better products to market faster. TI is able to run real network traffic over hardware-emulated standard product and core designs prior to actual silicon prototyping, thus further decreasing development times and costs. TI also helps customers to verify their systems. No other semiconductor company offers this breadth and depth of development expertise, products and services.

The TI 0.18-micron technology delivers other significant benefits for networking OEMs. Higher integration reduces the number of components per system thereby reducing system costs. Power dissipation is significantly reduced with 0.18-micron technology, eliminating heat sinks and other costly thermal management add-ons in the system and reducing overall cost.

The benefits of the 0.18-micron technology also extend to managers and users of enterprise networks, addressing new network technologies and giving networking devices better feature/value sets, lower cost per port, smaller footprint and simpler management.

TImeline Technology Enhances Many Network Applications

A variety of network technologies and applications can be enhanced by the 0.18-micron Timeline Technology. Examples include:

• Super "switch-on-a-chip" integration for high-performance workgroup and backbone switches with superior scalability
• "Router-on-a-chip" integration of LAN and WAN functions in a very small footprint that delivers "access in a soda can" for Internet service providers
• Gigabit and Terabit network functions, including integration of advanced traffic management and flow control techniques to enhance bandwidth delivery across global networks
• Embedded network intelligence that enables powerful small-office and home-office networks as well as performs remote diagnostics on network equipment
• Combined switched network and routing silicon architectures for even greater increases in network performance

Availability

Initial design engagements employing the TImeline Technology are currently in progress, and TI plans to begin work with beta customers in the third quarter of 1996. Samples are scheduled to be available in 1997 with full production targeted for 1998.