Continuing its push for Gigabit to the desktop, broadband circuit designer Marvell Tuesday released a new 24-Port Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) switch.
Part of the Sunnyvale-based company’s Prestera-EX lineup, the company said its new EX242 supports wire-speed switching and Layer 3 Quality of Service. Marvell is advertising the new device as a cheap and quick replacement for 24 and 48-port Fast Ethernet (FE) desktop switches.
The devices are currently sampling, but Marvell said it is offering customer reference designs including schematics, layout information and a modular software infrastructure for potential switch manufacturers and enterprise systems OEMs.
“By offering an exceptional level of integration at a cost-effective point, this new member of the Prestera-EX family is well-positioned to accelerate the migration from Fast Ethernet to Gigabit Ethernet,” said Marvell Executive Vice President Weili Dai.
The Prestera-EX packet processors feature wire-speed multi-layer switching capabilities and integrated high-speed uplink for high-port density standalone, stackable and chassis applications. The EX242 supports 16K MAC
Marvell has been coming up with new designs recently with the promise of Gigabit Ethernet to the desktop. The company recently unveiled a revised Presera lineup including a new Prestera-FX9110 crossbar switch fabric to compliment its Alaska PHY products.
To help with its strategy, Marvell is also preparing to acquire the technology of RADLAN Computer Communications.
The company has also said in the past that its grand scheme of Gigabit Ethernet is being marketed to Tier-1 switch vendors like Cisco and Nortel
as an integral part of their chassis systems. The new hardware should also help computer makers like Hewlett-Packard
and Dell
who are also pushing to put faster connections in on their motherboards.
