From: [email protected] (Mary Riendeau)
Path: mer
Newsgroups: wstd.press-releases
Subject: INTERPHASE INTRODUCES RISC-BASED FIBER OPTIC NETWORK NODE PROCESSOR
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INTERPHASE
CORPORATION
2925 Merrell Road
Dallas, Texas 75229
(214) 350-9000 FAX: (214) 352-4124

CONTACT:

PRESS CONTACT: Bob Greenfield
              (214) 91 9-9000

         AMD: David Frink
              (512) 462-4360

                            NEWS RELEASE
                        FOR RELEASE JAN. 22

                  INTERPHASE INTRODUCES RISC-BASED
                 FIBER OPTIC NETWORK NODE PROCESSOR


             V/FDDI 4211 PEREGRINE IS FIRST INTELLIGENT
              6U VMEBus FDDI NODE PROCESSOR AVAILABLE


DALLAS, Jan. 22, 1990 -- Interphase Corporation today introduced the
industry's first RlSC-based 6U VMEbus node processor for the
100-megabit-per-second (Mbits/s) fiber optic FDDI network (Fiber
Distributed Data Interface).
    As an FDDI node processor, the V/FDDI 4211 Peregrine attaches a
VMEbus computer system or workstation to an FDDI network and performs much of the communications protocol processing and network management required. FDDI is a specification of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Committee X3T9.5). Its 100 Mbits/s speed is 10 times faster than the speed of Ethernet, today's most popular local area network.
     Interphase's 4211 Peregrine uses Advanced Micro Device's Am29000TM RISC
processor which, in this application, is capable of executing 14
million instructions per second (MIPS) sustained. By comparisonj the
processors in most of today's high performance personal computers
provide only a fraction of this processing power. But perhaps more
importantly, the 4211's hardware architecture, by providing the
Am29000 with its own exclusive memory space, assures the Am29000 can
execute at rates approaching its peak performance. Dedicated excution
memory for the Am29000 eliminates contention for access to memory
between the Am29000 processor and the VMEbus or FDDI interfaces.
     The 4211 Peregrine also features Interphase's exclusive
BUSpacket Interface, the fastest Direct Memory Access (DMA) interface
on the VMEbus today.
     Essentially, the BUSpacket Interface decouples bus activity from
other activity on the 4211 through the use of high-speed FIFO
(First-ln-First-Out) memory buffers and an asynchronous state machine
that monitors VMEbus signalling. The BUSpacket Interface formats
packets of data in the FlFOs before seizing control of the VMEbus.
Then, the FlFOs are emptied at speeds that are only limited by the
speed of the host system's memory. In tests, BUSpacket has transferred
data over the VMEbus at speeds in excess of 36 MBytes/s, a speed that approaches the theoretical limit of the VMEbus.
     This becomes particularly important in an FDDI network where,
because of the speed of the network (100 Megabits per second or 12.5
MegaBytes per second), data coming from the network could use a very
large portion of the VMEbus bandwidth H the VMEbus interface could not
transfer data at rates significantly faster than the network.
     "We have designed this FDDI node processor so that it can be
easily integrated into an OEM's product line and provide high speed
data transfers over FDDI,U said Michael E. Cope, president and CEO of
Interphase. 'The flexibility of the Peregrine's design allows it to be
configured to support any application, including the use of FDDI as a
local area network or a backbone connection. We chose the Am29000
because of its high bandwidth and protocol processing speed, which are
needed to support the FDDI standard."
     Interphase's V/FDDI 4211 Peregrine can be configured to
implement an FDDI single or dual attached station. An FDDI network of
dual attached stations offers a degree of fault tolerance, since dual
attached stations are connected to two fiber optic rings. If one ring
fails, the network can automatically reconfigure itself and continue
operations. On the other hand, an FDDI implementation strategy of
single attached stations does not offer any fault tolerance, but it is
less costly while providing the same relative throughput performance.
The 4211 will also support either single or dual MACs (Media Access
Control) in compliance with the FDDI specification.
     In addition to the Am29000 RISC processor, the 4211 features
AMD's FDDI SupernetTM chips which provide the interface to the FDDI network.
     "We are excited that Interphase has chosen the Am29000 and the
Supernet chip set," said Subodh Toprani, Director of Marketing for
AMD's embedded processor division. "The combination should put
Interphase in a strong position in their market, and we are pleased to
be supporting their efforts."
     The V/FDDI Peregrine costs $8,995 for a single attachment
configuration and $10,995 in a dual attachment configuration. The 4211
will be available in March, 1990.
     Interphase products include disk, tape and networking
controllers and subsystems that serve the VMEbus, Multibus and EISA
markets, and the Sun Microsystems aftermarket. The company sells to
computer OEMs, VARs (Value Added Resellers) and users through a
worldwide sales network.
     Interphase was founded in 1974 and had its initial public
offering of stock in 1984. Its stock is traded on NASDAQ under the
symbol INPH. The company is located at 1380 Senlac, Dallas, TX 75234.
Telephone: (214) 919-9000.

Interphase is a trademark of Interphase Corporation.
BUSpacket Interface is a service mark of Interphase Corporation.
Multibus is a trademark of INTEL Corporation.
Am29000 is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

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