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Based on its recent analysis of the Ethernet integrated circuits (ICs) market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation (Pink Sheets: VTSS.PK) with the 2008 Global Frost & Sullivan Green Excellence of the Year Award. Vitesse's development of the EcoEthernet solutions is a significant first step toward reducing worldwide network switching power consumption.
Vitesse's Ethernet IC product families include the SimpliPHY™ Gigabit Ethernet Copper PHY devices, which contain innovative timing recovery and adaptive equalization algorithms that increase cable noise tolerance levels. SimpliPHY™ enables the usage of lower-cost magnetics, owing to its patented voltage-mode line driver technology. The SparX™ series of Gigabit Ethernet switches is a line of unmanaged and smart web-managed switches that cost-effectively eliminate the need for external processing and memory found in fully-managed switches. Lastly, Vitesse's G-RocX™ devices, a family of low-power Gigabit Ethernet Router systems-on-chips (SOCs), are an ideal solution for next-generation residential and small and medium enterprises (SME) gateways.
Vitesse created a competitive advantage by identifying a rising trend in energy saving in the Ethernet networking segment and providing customers a means to differentiate their solutions by incorporating EcoEthernet power-savings technology into their products.
"Vitesse developed two advanced, innovative green features, that are known industry-wide as ActiPHY™ and PerfectReach™, to provide greater Ethernet energy efficiency," explains Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Jayalakashmi Janakiraman. "Since Ethernet connectivity is available in a lot of equipment today, there is significant potential for energy savings."
ActiPHY helps save power by detecting inactive Ethernet ports on network devices and automatically powering them down or placing them in sleep mode. A built-in programmable sleep timer occasionally checks for the presence of link pulses so that it can immediately restore the active mode of operation. The IEEE802.3 Ethernet specification does not stipulate a standby power mode when a link is not established. However, the compatible ActiPHY implementation can reduce port power consumption by more than 400 mW.
"Vitesse estimates significant physical port power consumption can be saved when using its Ethernet products with the ActiPHY mode enabled versus the company's standard chips," observes Janakiraman. "At the system level for 5- and 8-port switches, this feature can save between 80 to 85 percent of power."
Meanwhile, Vitesse's PerfectReach, an intelligent algorithm, adjusts power to the required levels after approximately determining the cable length by measuring link pulse degradation. Since the IEEE802.3 specification requires PHYs (physical layer) to communicate at maximum cable reach of 100 m even if plugged into a cable that is much shorter, there would be an unnecessary waste of power. The first-generation of PerfectReach addresses this problem and helps achieve power savings of up to 10 percent when plugged into shorter cables.
"These energy-efficient solutions, collectively referred to as EcoEthernet, are integrated in all SimpliPHY™, SparX™, and G-RocX™ devices that are in mass production," continues Janakiraman. "The features are made available as part of a simple and eco-friendly software upgrade that consumes negligible amounts of processing power and therefore, are expected to go a long way in helping designers meet various emerging energy efficiency standards."
Vitesse's EcoEthernet features not only provide customers with an interim solution for their energy saving needs, but also help clients maximize resources and gain a competitive edge.
Each year Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated unique product design and development initiatives, which is aligned with a sustainable and environmentally conscious objective within its industry sector. This Award signifies the company's identification of a unique and revolutionary solution with significant environmental benefits, while simultaneously presenting tremendous market potential. Moreover, the Award also signifies that the company's overall business strategy is sound and poised for success.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.
About Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation
Vitesse (vitesse.com) designs, develops and markets a diverse portfolio of high-performance, cost-competitive semiconductor solutions for Carrier and Enterprise networks worldwide. Engineering excellence and dedicated customer service distinguish Vitesse as an industry leader in Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Ethernet-over-SONET, Fibre Channel, Serial Attached SCSI, Optical Transport, and other applications. Vitesse innovation empowers customers to deliver superior products for Enterprise, Access, Metro, and Core applications.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's TEAM Research, Growth Consulting and Growth Team™ Membership empower clients to create a growth-focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents.
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