Samsung adds ARM9 core for SoHo ADSL apps

At the same time, Samsung is developing more highly-integrated versions of existing ARM7-based ADSL chips for small-footprint residential gateways.

The S3C2510 controller is part of a three-piece chipset. It is used with the S5N8950 discrete multitone (DMT) transceiver, a DSP device using the TeakLite core, and the S5N8951 analog front-end. The 2510 features hardware support for Data Encryption Standard (DES) and triple-DES encryption, making it optimal for virtual private networks, Samsung said.

For residential nets, the existing ARM7-based S5N8947 controller will be integrated with the 8950 DMT transceiver to produce a single logic and DSP device, the S5N8957. This chip will be marketed alongside the S5N8963, an analog front-end that includes a line driver.

The next step up for ARM9 devices will be the S5N8972 and S5N8961 family, which will include support for ADSL-2 and ADSL-2+, including the new Annex L, a feature set that includes iterative water-filling algorithms and other dynamic spectral management concepts.

A suite of turnkey software includes embedded modules for Layer 3 bridging and routing as well as ATM segmentation/reassembly. Drivers are included for either Linux or VxWorks. A four-layer evaluation board includes all functions from telephony tip and ring to Ethernet MAC on a card measuring 120mm x 134mm.

- Loring Wirbel

EE Times