News and New Products

Devices optimize packet-based networking and VOIP

By Robert Cravotta -- EDN, 3/31/2005

Freescale's MPC8360E PowerQuicc II Pro processor family targets the converged packet-network market, and the MSC7119 and MSC7118 DSPs optimize system reliability for performance-driven VOIP (voice-over-Internet Protocol) and general-purpose signal-processing applications. Freescale based the MPC8360E and the MPC8358E processors on the e300 PowerPC SOC (system-on-chip) platform. The E designation indicates that these processors include on-chip encryption support. The MPC8360E family’s Quicc Engine technology features two RISC processors, each operating as fast as 500 MHz, which can deliver a combined full-duplex data throughput as fast as 1.2 Gbps, including interworking. Eight internal unified communication controllers provide support for Gigabit Ethernet, HDLC (high-level data level), and UTOPIA (universal test and operations physical interface for ATM)/POS (packet over SONET) at speeds as high as OC-12. The Quicc Engine technology supports as many as 256 subscribers for IP DSLAMs (digital-subscriber-line-access multiplexers) or more than 2000 voice channels.

The e300 PowerPC core can operate as fast as 667 MHz, and the e300 core and Quicc Engine technology can operate at different clock speeds. The integrated security engine includes a public-key accelerator and an on-chip random-number generator to support DES (Data Encryption Standard), 3DES (Triple DES), MD-5, SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm)-1, AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), and ARC-4 encryption algorithms. The MPC8360E supports high-speed memory access through one 64-bit, DDR-memory controller or two 32-bit controllers at speeds as high as 333 MHz and a 133-MHz local system bus. The devices support MII (media-independent interface), RMII (reduced MII), GMII (Gigabit MII), TBI (10-bit interface), dual-UART, dual-I²C, dual-SPI, full- and low-speed USB, and PCI. The MPC8360E family is software-compatible with previous PowerQuicc communication-processor generations. The MPC8360E and MPC8358E processors will become available for sampling in the next quarter.

Freescale based the MSC7119 and MSC7118 DSPs on the StarCore architecture, and they target the requirements for performance-driven VOIP and general-purpose signal-processing designs. They increase the top-end performance of Freescale’s MSC711x DSP family to 1200 MMACs (millions of multiply/accumulates) at 300 MHz and increase the on-chip M1 memory to 256 kbytes. The MSC7118’s SC1400 core integrates three 128-bit TDM (time-division-multiplexing) interfaces, a 32-channel DMA controller, a DDR external-memory interface, and a 16-bit enhanced host port. The MSC7119 is the same as the MSC7118 except that the 7119 substitutes a low-cost 10/100-bit Ethernet MAC (media-access controller) for one fewer TDM interface. At 300 MHz, both devices have a typical power consumption of 400 to 500 mW. These devices include fieldBIST (built-in-system-test) hardware diagnostics that can report the partial or complete device operability by identifying errors in the six memory blocks, including ROM; the PLL; and logic errors at the top, extended-core, and peripheral layers.

The MSC7116, MSC7115, MSC7113, MSC7112, and MSC7110 devices are all available in production quantities. The MSC7119 and MSC7118 will be available for sampling in the second quarter with production planned for early in the third quarter. The devices are available in lead-free and -bearing 17×17-mm, 400-pin, 0.8-mm-pitch MAPBGA packages. Prices for the MSC7118 and MSC7119 range from $33 to $35 (10,000).

Freescale Semiconductor, 1-800-521-6274, www.freescale.com.