KONTRON ROLLS OUT 10GB ATCA HUB FOR IPTV-BASED BROADBAND MEDIA SERVER APPLICATIONS

Modular Design of Kontron AT8904 AdvancedTCA Hub is a Versatile and Powerful Platform for the High Processing Demands of IP Media

SAN DIEGO, February 28, 2007 − Today at the Mountain View Alliance Communications Ecosystem Conference, Kontron introduced a new AdvancedTCA hub that offers 10GB fabric switching and a versatile design to meet the high traffic demands of IPTV-based media content “on demand.” The 10GB hub – the Kontron AT8904 – is the ideal platform for open modular-based broadband media servers used to support Video on Demand (VoD) from a library of movies, delivered over DSL or cableTV networks, as well as VoD short videos from online service platforms delivered to mobile phones and wireless clients.

For design engineers of media server applications, the Kontron AT8904 offers exceptional flexibility with two AdvancedMC slots to host any of the following: processor AMC modules as main controllers; storage AMC modules as mass storage devices for Processor AMCs; and dual 10GbE uplink AMCs to interlink the Fabric. Concerning the 10GbE uplinks the Kontron AT8904 hub with the Kontron AM4310 Mid-Size Interlink AMC module offers a redundant Interlink of multiple ATCA chassis. The Kontron AM4310 provides 2 x 10GbE uplinks on the front panel via optical XFP connectors which are routed to the XAUI ports (ports 4-7 and 8-11) on the AMC connectors.

The Kontron AT8904 – the right modular concept
The Kontron AT8904 is designed with built-in Layer 3 routing support and non-blocking Layer 2 switching with VLANs, 10GbE service to redundant Hub Board, 10GbE service to payload slots 2-15, 1x 1000Base-T uplink on front panel, and
2 x 10GbE connection to both AMC slots. More importantly, the design of the Kontron AT8904 is based on its existing line of AdvancedTCA hub boards which, for GbE to 10 GbE migration purposes, provides tremendous economies of scale and faster deployments for designers who have already designed applications with the Kontron AT8901 and the Kontron AT8902 hubs. The Kontron AT8904 supports full IPv6 routing and a line rate switching capacity of 200-Gbps which makes it the ideal hub for high traffic broadband media server network elements.

“Kontron was the first to introduce this modular approach for AdvancedTCA hub blades,” said Marc Leclaire, Kontron Product Manager, ATCA/AMC/mTCA. “The Kontron AT8904 uses the same architecture with all the same supported software protocols. Kontron offers flexible Gigibit configurations plus the ability to potentially make the hub portable to other switch fabrics such as Rapid IO, Infiniband and ASI. Another advantage to clients is the fact that Kontron was first in offering its ATCA hubs as a system controller using a processor AMC and AMC storage module.”

Management and protocols
Management of the Kontron AT8904 is done via CLI, SNMP, or TELNET, either in-band or out of band via 10/100Base-T Ethernet or RS232. Supported are a wide range of Ethernet/Bridging protocols, namely Link aggregation (802.3ad), VLANs (802.1Q), Spanning Tree (802.1D, 802.1w), QoS (802.1p), Flow control (802.3x), GVRP, and GMRP. Moreover, it supports various IP routing protocols, including OSPFv2, RIPv2, VRRP, IGMP snooping, IPv4 and IPv6 full routing functionality, DiffServ, ARP, and ICMP. Layer 3 functionality is assigned to either Base (standard) or to Fabric I/F. As with all Kontron AdvancedTCA platforms, the Kontron AT8904 also supports Intelligent Platform Management Interface version 1.5, which enhances the hub’s availability while reducing the overall operating costs and mean-time-to-repair.

Product Pricing and Availability
Pricing: OEM pricing upon request
Availability: Q2, 07.

###

About Kontron Open Modular Solutions:
Kontron shortens the application design process by ensuring that each open modular building block is fully interoperable and designed to be both the right technology and the right architecture to suit specific development needs. Kontron pre-integrated open modular solutions offer best-in-class carrier-grade hardware platforms, combined with carrier-grade OS and middleware solutions. Kontron offers a diverse selection of AdvancedTCA processor, switch and carrier boards plus complementary field-replaceable AdvancedMC processor, storage, and I/O modules. Kontron also builds all of its AdvancedTCA platforms to be ‘AMC Everywhere’ enabled, offering support for AdvancedMC modules in its processor, switch and carrier products. This is a major factor in providing TEMs with unprecedented flexibility in the design of new applications, as well as to increase economies of scale by freeing up valuable AdvancedTCA system slots for other payload blades.

About Kontron:
A global leader in embedded computer technology and mobile rugged solutions, Kontron supplies a diversified customer base of OEMs, system integrators, and application providers in the: automation, test and measurement, communications, medical, gaming and entertainment, military, aerospace, transportation, and energy markets. The company helps its customers considerably reduce their time-to-market and gain a competitive advantage with products including: high-performance open computer platforms and systems, single board computers, human-machine interfaces, and mobile rugged computers and displays. Kontron employs more than 2,300 people worldwide and has manufacturing facilities in Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific. The company is listed on the German TecDAX 30 stock exchange under the symbol "KBC". Kontron is a Premier member in the Intel ® Communications Alliance which means earliest access to leading-edge Intel technologies and privileged engineering support. For additional information on Kontron, please visit www.kontron.com.

Editor Contact
Richard Pugnier
Manager, Marketing Communications
Kontron
858.623.3006
richard.pugnier@us.kontron.com


Product and Technical Contact
Peter Matz
Product Marketing Manager, Open Modular Solutions
Kontron
450.437.5682
peter.matz@ca.kontron.com

If you would like more information on purchasing one of Kontron’s products, please contact us at 888.294.4558 or sales@us.kontron.com