Toshiba and Rambus Collaborate on High-Performance Storage and Networking Solutions

Strategic Insights -

Toshiba Corporation, a Japanese multinational electronics company, and Rambus Inc., a leading developer of chip interface products and services, have formed a strategic partnership to develop high-performance storage and networking solutions. According to the agreement, Toshiba will integrate Rambus's RaSer(TM) serial link cell technology into its 90 nanometer (nm) process technology library, enabling the development of next-generation Storage Area Networking (SAN) systems and backplane interconnects with unprecedented bandwidth and network performance.

Key Takeaways:

  • The partnership between Toshiba and Rambus aims to develop high-performance storage and networking solutions for the SAN and data networking markets.
  • Toshiba will incorporate Rambus's RaSer(TM) serial link cell technology into its 90nm process technology library, allowing for the creation of next-generation SAN systems and backplane interconnects.
  • The RaSer(TM) serial link cell technology operates at up to 6.25Gbps and offers a proven, full-featured, and easy-to-integrate solution that addresses some of the toughest interconnect problems associated with the backplane.
  • The solution, coupled with Toshiba's advanced system-on-a-chip (SoC) technology, will enable next-generation SAN systems and backplane interconnects to achieve unprecedented bandwidth and network performance as well as density and die size at the lowest power.
  • Toshiba has been shipping production quantities of its 90nm custom SoCs since the second quarter of 2003, considerably ahead of others.
  • The partnership marks an extension of the collaboration between Rambus and Toshiba, with Rambus's RaSer PHY serial link technology combined with Toshiba's world-class 90nm process providing a highly integrated solution for challenging backplane environments.
  • The RaSer family of serial link cells offers designers scalable serial link architectures that are optimized to address current and future serial link applications requiring the highest bandwidth and channel count on a single chip.

Statistics:

  • The RaSer(TM) serial link cell technology operates at up to 6.25Gbps.
  • Toshiba has been shipping production quantities of its 90nm custom SoCs since the second quarter of 2003, considerably ahead of others.
  • The RaSer family of serial link cells can be employed across a variety of computing and communication applications, including modular switch backplanes, Gigabit and 10-Gigabit Ethernet, PCI Express, 1, 2 & 4Gbps Fibre Channel, fiber optic network interfaces, and custom chip-to-chip applications.

Sources:

  • Toshiba Corporation, Toshiba expects to have working silicon based on this development in the third quarter of 2004 with volume production planned for 2005.
  • Rambus Inc., Rambus is one of the world's leading providers of advanced chip interface products and services.
  • Toshiba Corporation, Toshiba is a leader in the development and manufacture of electronic devices and components, information and communication systems, consumer products, and power systems.
  • TAEC, Combining quality and flexibility with design engineering expertise, TAEC brings a breadth of advanced, next-generation technologies to its customers.