Features - Storage Innovations:

PMC-SIERRA SAMPLING 4G FIBRE CHANNEL PRODUCTS

PMC-Sierra Inc announced the sampling of the industry's first 4.25 Gbit/s Fibre Channel intelligent Port Bypass Controllers and Quad CMOS SERDES devices for next-generation enterprise storage arrays and storage network applications. The PM8377 PBC 4x4G and PM8369 PBC 18x4G intelligent Port Bypass Controllers support 4.25 Gbit/s enterprise-class disk enclosure applications. The new 4.25 Gbit/s devices are pin and software compatible to PMC-Sierra's PM8372 PBC 4x2G and PM8368 PBC 18x2G intelligent Port Bypass Controllers that are shipping in volume today. In addition, to support the recent Fibre Channel Industry Association vote to extend 4.25 Gbit/s Fibre Channel into the SAN Fabric, PMC-Sierra is sampling the PM8386 QuadPHY 4GFC four channel CMOS SERDES for Fibre Channel Fabric Switch and Host-Bus Adapter applications.

"Building on our successful Fibre Channel products offering and industry leading multi-gigabit serial interconnect technology, we are pleased to provide customers with early access to 4G Fibre Channel devices. PMC-Sierra is working closely with key storage equipment OEMs to enable the 4G Fibre Channel market with products that provide a smooth and cost-effective transition from 2G systems design," said Mark Stibitz, vice president and general manager of PMC-Sierra's Enterprise Storage Division. "Customers seeking to rapidly adopt the new 4G Fibre Channel standard can use our low power CMOS 4.25 Gbit/s products to design, test and introduce robust next-generation disk array enclosures and storage network switches."

"There has been so much attention on the initiator side with FC that the target side, relatively speaking, has been neglected. With PMC-Sierra's intelligent Port Bypass Controller products for 2G and now its new 4G products, the company gains a first mover advantage in the market," said Arun Taneja, founder and consulting analyst of Taneja Group. "Most OEMs will build high performance storage products with this type of functionality built into their future products and now can get a head start on the 4G development."