eASIC and Comcores Deliver CPRI v6.1 Switch Reference Design for Next-Generation LTE Advanced and 5G Networking Equipment

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jun. 16, 2015 – 

eASIC Corporation (@easic), a fabless semiconductor company that delivers a custom integrated circuit (IC) platform (eASIC Platform), and Comcores ApS, a leading provider of IP cores for wireless networks and an eZ-IP Alliance Partner, today announced immediate availability of a common public radio interface (CPRI) v6.1 switch reference design.

Ideally suited for manufacturers of next-generation LTE Advanced radio base stations and 5G networking equipment, it combines a Comcores CPRI Switch IP solution with eASIC?s Nextreme-3 silicon platform to offer a high-bandwidth solution for C-RAN (cloud or centralized radio access interface) fronthaul network applications.

Now, designers have all the essential ingredients in a single integrated platform for bridging between virtually any radio access that uses optical or microwave transport, and a centralized baseband pool that uses CPRI for communication. Equipped with the basic building blocks for a CPRI switch - an I/Q cross-connect, an Ethernet switch and CPRI v6.1 controller IP - packaged as a complete reference design, customers can dramatically shorten design cycles, while cutting costs and mitigating the risks associated with designing "from scratch".

"Together with Comcores, we?re delivering an ideal platform for rapid and cost effective deployment of fronthaul technology," said Jasbinder Bhoot, vice president of worldwide marketing at eASIC. "With today?s news, designers now have an efficient, no-compromise solution for jumpstarting LTE-Advanced and 5G wireless communications system designs to address stringent cost, performance and time-to-market requirements for next-generation C-RAN fronthaul applications."

"We?re pleased to extend our collaboration with eASIC with delivery of a CPRI v6.1 switch reference design," said Thomas Noergaard, CEO of Comcores. "Our optimized core is a perfect match for eASIC silicon. It fully exploits the high performance 12.5 Gbps serial transceivers to achieve multiple hundreds of gigabit of serial throughput depending on the switch configuration. And, it can be dynamically configured to handle wireless multi-mode radio systems, addressing the deterministic latency and high-performance throughputs required by LTE Advanced radio base stations. Altogether, this puts a concrete solution in the hands of customers for making the C-RAN vision a reality for next-generation fronthaul design and deployment."

A key requirement for fulfilling the industry?s vision for the C-RAN architecture is the availability of a high throughput, flexible fronthaul connection between the new network architecture of centralized baseband controllers and remote standalone radio heads at cell sites at line rates of up to 12.2 Gbps enabled in the CPRI v6.1 specification.

Among the technical features of the new reference design from eASIC and Comcores are:

• Up to 52 ports non-blocking, user-plane switch using an eASIC N3XT1300_FC1517 device
• Switching at antenna carrier (AxC) level
• Low system clock rate of 245.76 MHz to optimize performance and power
• Dynamically supports 1:1 connectivity, broadcast or multicast operation
• Support for optional Ethernet switch for Control and Management
• Support for optional ORI compliant compression IP

About Comcores

Comcores is a market leader in the development of state-of-the-art IP-cores for wireless front-haul and C-RAN. The company provides modular IP blocks and components for connectivity and radio functionality in existing and next generation mobile infrastructure networks. Comcores offers leading IP cores solutions, expertise in research and development as well as custom design solutions.

For more information please visit www.comcores.com

About eASIC

eASIC is a semiconductor company offering a differentiated solution that enables us to rapidly and cost-effectively deliver custom ICs, creating value for our customers? hardware and software systems. Our eASIC solution consists of our eASIC platform which incorporates a versatile, pre-defined and reusable base array and customizable single-mask layer, our ASICs, delivered using either our easicopy or standard ASIC methodologies, and our proprietary design tools.

We believe this innovative technology allows eASIC to offer the optimal combination of fast time-to-market, high performance, low power consumption, low development cost and low unit cost for our customers. eASIC Corporation is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Investors include Khosla Ventures, Crescendo Ventures, Seagate Technology, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers (KPCB) and Evergreen Partners.

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