Superior Signal Integrity Puts Altera's Stratix GX FPGAs Into Ceterus Networks' New Cross Connect

Altera’s Reliable Transceiver Offering Enables Ceterus Networks to Bring Next-Generation Ethernet Services to Legacy Networks

San Jose, Calif., October 10, 2005—Ceterus Networks is using Altera Corporation’s (NASDAQ:ALTR) Stratix® GX FPGA family for its UTX8212 multiservice cross-connect, the two companies announced today. Altera’s best-in-class transceiver solution enables the UTX8212 to aggregate high volumes of all traffic types, allowing legacy networks to carry Ethernet services as well as time-division multiplexed (TDM) services. The Stratix GX family’s large number of serializer/deserializer (SERDES) channels, combined with superior signal integrity compared to competing solutions, convinced the provider of flexible network transport solutions that they could rely on the Altera® solution to support the UTX8212.

“Signal integrity at high speeds is a critical requirement for the UTX8212, so Stratix GX was an excellent choice for us,” said Bob Cantwell, director of engineering for Ceterus Networks. “The Stratix GX equalization feature enabled us to achieve our signal integrity goals without relying on pre-emphasis. The resulting power savings placed us well within our thermal budget, contributing to the UTX8212’s ability to reliably deliver high-bandwidth traffic aggregation.”

Cantwell continued, “This is the first time we’ve used Altera FPGAs, and we are pleasantly surprised by the productivity gains we got from using Quartus® II development software. In addition, we are very impressed by the new transceiver capabilities, improved logic structure and reduced power consumption that will be provided by the Stratix II GX family.”

Ceterus employs Stratix GX devices to perform backplane communication on every line card and administration card in the UTX8212. Ceterus also made use of Altera’s double data rate (DDR) DRAM intellectual property (IP) core and relies on the re-programmability of Stratix GX devices to perform in-field upgrades and updates.

The Ceterus UTX8212 next-generation cross-connect aggregates all traffic types—including new Ethernet and legacy TDM services—from multiple enterprise locations. Utilizing Ceterus’ market-leading, standards-based circuit bonding technology and a powerful 3/1/0 cross-connect, the UTX8212 enables carriers to leverage their existing networks and create flexible “virtual pipes” that enable a smooth migration to new packet-based services. The UTX8212 supports critical and rapidly expanding services such as distributed enterprise connectivity and cell tower backhaul in support of 3G wireless deployments.

“Today’s data transfer technologies need to be more than just fast, they also need to be reliable,” said David Greenfield, senior director of Altera’s high-speed product group. “Altera understands that all the transceiver speed in the world won’t get our customers anywhere if they don’t have good signal integrity, which is why customers like Ceterus have chosen Stratix GX FPGAs over competing solutions.”

Building on the concept of FPGAs integrated with transceivers first introduced by  Altera in 2001, Stratix GX devices include up to 20 full-duplex transceiver channels, each capable of operating at up to 3.125 Gbps per channel while consuming minimal power. Stratix GX devices offer the same features as the award-winning Stratix FPGA family, including TriMatrixTM memory, digital signal processing (DSP) blocks, and advanced clock management circuitry for intensive data-path processing functions. Stratix GX devices are ideal for implementing interface protocols such as SerialLite, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and XAUI, or customized functions that require data rates up to 3.125 Gbps. For more information about Stratix GX, please visit www.altera.com/stratixgx.

About Ceterus

Ceterus Networks provides flexible transport solutions that enable Ethernet as well as legacy service delivery to any location, over copper or fiber. By transforming existing wireline and wireless networks to carry flexible packet-based Ethernet as well as TDM services, Ceterus products enable service providers and enterprises to deliver these high-bandwidth, high-QoS managed services to every location, using existing OAM&P procedures, while minimizing access cost and capital expense. Ceterus Networks is a privately held company headquartered in Allen, Texas. For more informtaion, visit the company’s website at www.ceterus.com.

About Altera

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) is the world’s pioneer in system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions. Combining programmable logic technology with software tools, intellectual property and technical services, Altera provides high-value programmable solutions to approximately 14,000 customers worldwide. More information is available at www.altera.com.

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