Broadcom launches new Enterprise Ethernet Switches

Broadcom has announced new enterprise Ethernet switches designed to deliver the faster data rates offered by 802.11ac Wave 2 Wi-Fi. Built on Broadcom’ s Strata XGS architecture, the BCM56060 and BCM56160 enable OEMs to design cost-optimized network switches that enable high-speed, robust Internet access across both traditional and new all-wireless enterprise networks.

The increased wireless speeds delivered by 802.11ac Wave 2 are exceeding the performance of today’s broadly deployed Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), driving enterprises to upgrade network edge switches. The most cost-effective solution is to run 2.5G Ethernet to the access point, thereby unlocking faster wireless speeds and enabling higher bandwidth without needing to re-cable an entire network. Broadcom’ s new switches address the upgrade needs for both traditional and all-wireless enterprises, and are designed to work with Broadcom’ s BCM84868 2.5 Gbps Ethernet PHY.

The new BCM56160 is the industry’s most integrated Ethernet switch chip set for traditional wired enterprises where desktop terminals, voice-over-IP phones and wireless access points are all connected. The BCM56160 enterprise switch adds 2.5 GbE access point connections to the popular 24 and 48 port Gigabit Ethernet form-factors. To accommodate higher Wi-Fi traffic, the device also integrates more high-speed 10 Gigabit interfaces for fiber uplinks and delivers double the stacking bandwidth of previous generation devices.

For the all-wireless office built primarily on Wi-Fi access points with few wired terminals, Broadcom’ s BCM56060 is the first switch product family optimized for 802.11ac Wave 2 enterprise environments. The BCM56060 enables a smaller form-factor with low-power consumption, providing multi-mode 1 GbE/2.5 GbE Ethernet interfaces with 10 Gigabit uplinks. Because it is designed to connect primarily to access points instead of wired PCs and phones, it cuts cost by eliminating the legacy 1 GbE Ethernet links.

“Broadcom continues to partner with worldwide equipment manufacturers to deliver the most comprehensive portfolio for enterprise networking,” said Nick Kucharewski, Broadcom Vice- President, Network Switch Marketing. “Our new switch products enable a converged wired/wireless enterprise and deliver highly optimized 2.5 GbE solutions for high-density wireless deployments.”