September 19, 2005 -- Exar Corp. has advanced its position in the T/E carrier and SONET/SDH space with the introduction of an integrated 28 channel T1/E1 LIU/framer with VT/TU Mapper/DeMapper and the M13 multiplexer. The XRT86SH328 (Voyager) is optimized for the tributary aggregation applications such as multi-service provisioning platforms, optical transport systems, routers and wireless transport systems.

The device provides significant board space savings due to the level of LIU/Framer/Mapper integration. When three XRT86SH328s are combined on one line card, the device's architecture delivers a complete OC-3/STM-1 solution that supports up to 84 T1 or 63 E1 port aggregation applications. The XRT86SH328 includes all the SONET/SDH framing functionality to provide an OC-3/STM-1 compliant interface. Also, the XRT86SH328 (Voyager) can be used as a chipset with Exar's XRT91L30 transceiver providing a SONET/SDH compliant serial interface at 155Mbits/sec that can be directly connected to an optical module. In addition, the device utilizes Exar's proprietary R3 Technology (Reconfigurable, Relayless Redundancy) delivering key benefits to customers designing T1/E1/J1 interface cards.

Voyager's high level of integration enables system designers to architect their systems in configurations that were not practical in the past. Instead of using separate LIU and framer modules, system designers now have the option of using a single module for both LIU and framer functionality, saving significant systems cost and board space.

Each LIU channel on the XRT86SH328 supports Exar's R3 Technology - introduced in 2002. Devices using R3 Technology are reconfigurable with integrated termination supporting all common T1/E1/J1 line impedances enabling customers to build a simple board and eliminate the need for external relays for 1:1 and 1+1 redundancy applications. This feature allows final device configuration to be made just prior to line-card installation.

Voyager's architecture supports SONET/SDH compliant T1/E1 de-synchronizers in the drop direction in addition to the jitter attenuator functionality in the add direction. This architecture addresses different types of rigorous network jitter requirements, which in the past required very expensive multi-chip solutions. Voyager also provides unique DS3 capabilities, which includes M13 functionality, by multiplexing 28/21 T1/E1's onto a DS3 signal for sending either on a serial DS3 interface or by mapping onto an STS-1. In addition, DS1's or E1's received from a DS3 signal can be mapped into SONET/SDH through VT/TU mapping (trans-muxing).

Another advantage of the XRT86SH328 is the capability to mix T1's or E1's on any one of the LIU interfaces without requiring additional timing devices to support this mixed mode capability. In the past system designers were limited to the feature set of individual LIU and Framer devices for supporting this mixed mode solution which required very expensive timing components on their board design.

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