Marvell introduces a dual-port 100Gbps Ethernet transceiver that is fully compliant with the IEEE 802.3bj standard

     Marvell introduces the Marvell Alaska C 88X5121, an integrated dual-port 100Gbps Ethernet PHY transceiver that is fully IEEE 802.3bj compliant. The transceiver provides all the physical layer functionality required to meet the 100Gbps Ethernet standard and can support a variety of media such as optical fiber, backplane, passive copper cable. The 88X5121 also supports 25GbE applications and non-Ethernet applications such as Fibre Channel. The Marvell Alaska 88X5121 has begun offering samples to customers worldwide.

     Michael Zimmerman, Marvell's global vice president and general manager of the Connectivity, Storage and Underlying Networking (CSI) group, said: "The shift from 10GbE to 25GbE and from 40GbE to 100GbE is accelerating, and the Marvell 88X5121 transceiver provides the standards-compliant PHY solution needed to enable this shift in the data center. "The 88X5121 builds on Marvell's strong tradition of providing best-in-class capabilities to help customers scale their Ethernet applications in a variety of application environments."

     Bob Wheeler, principal analyst at The Linley Group, said: "The market is shifting to higher speed 25GbE and 100GbE, and it is critical for manufacturers to provide standards-compliant solutions to meet this demand. The rich functionality and flexibility of Marvell's 88X5121 transceiver is ideal for the data center market."

     According to market research firm Dell 'Oro Group, cloud providers are entering a cycle of expansion and massive upgrades, driven by the growing demand for capacity and the replacement of aging infrastructure, which can be met by 25Gbps server technology and 100Gbps switch technology. With the 88X5121, Marvell provides a high-performance, scalable solution to enable this transformation in the data center.

     The Marvell 88X5121 is manufactured in a 28nm process in a 17mm x 17mm package and can be used to achieve linear QSFP28 high-density 100GbE and 25GbE line card designs. The 88X5121 line interface is fully compliant with the IEEE 802.3bj standard, which defines physical layer performance specifications for 100Gbps Ethernet transmission via backplanes and copper cables. The device supports Reed-Solomon forward error correction (FEC) required for 100G-CR4 and 100G SR4 operating modes, as well as automatic negotiation and coefficient training protocol required by the IEEE 802.3 standard. The device side port of the 88X5121 is connected to the MAC or switch through a 4 x 25Gbps CAU-4 link. The transmission driver and receiver equalization function of the device side interface meet the OIF CEI-25G LR specification, which greatly exceeds the requirements of CAU-4. The device's line interfaces support various types of media, including single-mode and multimode fiber modules, passive and active direct-connected copper cables, and copper backplanes.

     For applications that do not require FEC functionality, the device also supports a low-latency transponder mode, in which features related to physical coding sublayer (PCS) and FEC are bypassed. In this transponder mode, the device can be used to drive backplanes and cables that carry non-Ethernet-like traffic, such as OTN, Fibre Channel, etc. In this mode, the device's eight tracks can operate independently, allowing multiple standards to be supported simultaneously. The 88X5121 operates with a wide bandwidth (1.25Gbps to 28.05Gbps) and supports a wide range of standards and rates.