Lucent Technologies Microelectronics Group has announced a 120 million-transistor system-on-a-chip that enables next-generation wireless base stations to transmit voice and broadband traffic over asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks.
Called Newport, the new chip helps wireless network operators provide high-quality wireless voice, video and data services to a variety of new consumer devices such as PDAs, Web-enabled cellular phones and other mobile Internet appliances, by maintaining high-speed ATM connections of multimedia traffic between base stations and mobile switching centres.
Lucent says that ATM is the preferred third-generation (3G) broadband protocol for its higher level of multimedia applications support, flexibility, scalability, multi-gigabit capacity and quality of service (QOS).
"The Newport device offers the highest level of hardware and software integration available today in the industry," says Ed Roberts, VP of networks and communications products with Lucent`s Microelectronics Group.
"It provides complete functionality for delivering the multi-service access necessary for 3G wireless traffic, while minimising power consumption and cutting time-to-market for our customers` new base station designs."
A multi-functional integrated circuit, Newport integrates up to 120 million transistors onto one chip and replaces as many as 18 separate integrated circuits used in competitive offerings. In addition to its high level of integration, which lowers chip count, systems cost and development time, Newport will deliver low-power consumption, using no more than 4 watts of power in most applications.
"Newport also delivers advanced QOS capabilities made possible by Bell Labs traffic management and cell scheduler software algorithms," says Roberts.
Newport combines physical layer (PHY), user network interface (UNI), inverse multiplexing for ATM (IMA) transmission convergence, ATM and ATM adaptation layer (AAL) types 2 and 5 functionality with associated data buffering and context descriptors into one chip.
For WAN access, the device provides an integrated octal T1/E1/J1 and quad J2 framer to support global wireless networks. Newport provides support for fractional ATM/time division multiplexing (TDM) physical links for sharing of WAN access by co-located 2G, 2.5G, and 3G base stations. Newport can also be connected to a synchronous optical network/synchronous digital hierarchy (SONET/SDH) ATM access ring via a glueless interface to Lucent`s TADM04622 device.
Newport supports IMA per ATM Forum AF-PHY-0086.000 with any combination of four groups and eight links. Newport embeds a 25-mS IMA delay compensation buffer.
"IMA enables delivery of high-speed-bursts associated with 3G traffic to be delivered over low-speed WAN links while assuring latency performance associated with wireless applications," says Jeff Timbs, senior manager of broadband access architecture with Lucent`s Microelectronics Group.
Newport`s ATM layer provides QOS across CBR, rt-VBR, nrt-VBR, ABR and UBR service classes by integrating cell scheduler and traffic management algorithms developed by Bell Labs. An embedded AAL2 segmentation and reassembly (SAR) function supports ITU I.366.1 and I.366.2 "intra-VC" class-of-service to enable multiplexing of low-speed data and voice-over-ATM traffic from up to four classes into AAL2 VCs. The AAL layer accommodates up to 2 048 full-duplex connections (which may be AAL2 channels or AAL5 VCs) via internal context and data buffers and can provide full-duplex AAL2 CID switching for rates up to 155Mbps. Newport`s AAL layer also supports AAL5 per ITU I.363.5.
Device management is simplified by an integrated ARM9 core and Lucent-provided firmware which utilises the SSX5 kernel component of Real-Time Architect from Realogy, a division of Northern Real Time Applications (NRTA).
Newport`s application software provides OAMP support for resource allocation, connection management, and event correlation as well as integrated policing, F4/F5 OAM cell processing and statistics collection for performance monitoring.
"System-on-a-chip integration does not ensure time-to-market advantage without a complete underlying OAMP solution as well," says Timbs. "In Newport, memory is a valuable resource and the tiny footprint of the SSX5 software made it the preferred choice for our application."
Communication with the device is accomplished through a 32-bit microprocessor interface. The system interface is through either a 16-bit UTOPIA-2 interface with support for both cell and packet data transfer, or up to eight serial links. Future enhancements of Newport include an IMA link-expansion interface and embedded software support for ITU Q.2630.1 AAL2 channel signalling protocol.
Samples of Newport will be available by the 3Q00 and production volumes are expected by the second quarter of 2001. Unit pricing is $350 in quantities of 10 000.
Share
