Emerson – New AdvancedTCA switch blade lowers cost of communications platforms (ATCA-F125)

The ATCA-F125, its latest and most cost-effective 10G AdvancedTCA (ATCA) switch blade, has been introduced by Emerson Network power. It enables network equipment manufacturers to combine many functions on a single blade so that available slots can be filled with revenue-generating application blades. The new 10G switch blade further expands an industry-leading ATCA portfolio and drives down the cost of ATCA infrastructure, says the company.

The architecture of the ATCA-F125 is complementary to the recently launched 40G ATCA switch blade, the ATCA-F140, allowing a common software environment to be used for both. By using compatible 10G and 40G solutions, network equipment manufacturers can migrate applications more easily from one to another, providing unrivalled scalability in both directions for their common platform.

Offering multiple functional options to optimize its use, the new switch blade enables users to maximize cost effectiveness for a wide range of telecom network and communications infrastructure applications. An on-board Freescale QorIQ P2020 device acts as a service processor to execute all switch functions, blade setup and hardware platform management functions, which allows the end user application to make full use of processors and storage using AdvancedMC (AMC) modules.

Optional functionality includes telecom clock generation and distribution, SATA-based hard drive devices (HDDs), and an AMC site for general processing and/or packet processing functions. AMC packet processing also allows telecommunications control and data plane applications to be combined on a single blade, reducing deployment costs.

Various options and features can be configured on the ATCA-F125 using the embedded ATCA Basic Blade Services (BBS) software package. When combined with the hardware, the BBS creates a fully integrated and verified switch-blade infrastructure for ATCA platforms, allowing customers to focus on revenue-generating software development projects. The ATCA-F125 is designed for NEBS and ETSI compliance to further reduce development costs and accelerate time-to-market.

The blade will also be integrated with the next release (R2.0) of the Emerson Network Power Centellis 4410 ATCA platform core, providing an integrated foundation for ATCA platform deployments, says the company.