Microsemi Announces Open Source Switchtec PCIe Switch Linux Drivers Enabling Rapid, Open Development of High Reliability PCIe Switching Solutions

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Feb. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/-- Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, today announced the availability of its Switchtec PCIe switch Linux drivers and software utilities to the open source community. Breaking away from proprietary, vendor-specific drivers, systems built with Microsemi's Switchtec PCIe switches can now provide out-of-the-box support for a wide range of applications including data center, enterprise storage, server, communications, defense and industrial systems.

"Open collaboration and sharing of technology are key to fostering innovation and rapid system development," said Derek Dicker, vice president and business unit manager for performance storage at Microsemi. "By offering open source Linux drivers and open hardware designs in collaboration with Facebook and the Open Compute Project (OCP), Microsemi enables customers to harness the power of distributed peer review and transparency to develop high reliability, high performance systems at an accelerated pace and lower cost."

Microsemi has been collaborating with Facebook, the Open Compute Project (OCP) and other industry leaders as ongoing support builds for open collaboration and innovation. NVMe JBOF (just a bunch of flash) hardware designs are freely downloadable at the OCP website located at http://www.opencompute.org/wiki/storage. Also now available for download are the Switchtec PCIe Switch Linux kernel patches, located at http://marc.info/?a=126996651800002&r=1&w=2, as well as Switchtec open source software utilities, which can be found at https://github.com/sbates130272/switchtec-user.

"By open sourcing hardware and software, the industry can evolve and innovate quickly to build more efficient, flexible, and scalable solutions," said Chris Petersen, systems architect, Facebook. "Microsemi is contributing to that change with its Switchtec PCIe switch, Linux drivers, and software utilities."

Microsemi Switchtec PCIe switches are the industry's highest density and lowest power PCIe switches enabling solutions for a wide variety of systems from scalable JBOFs with enclosure management to general purpose applications requiring low power and high reliability PCIe switching. Typical applications include enterprise storage, server and data center equipment, defense and industrial servers, workstations, test equipment, video production and broadcasting equipment, cellular infrastructure, access networks, metro networks and core networking.

"With Switchtec PCIe switch open source drivers and utilities available in the shared community, we're able to develop a robust code base and accelerate time-to-market for our All-Flash NVMe products," said Steven Lu, Chief of Product Marketing at Wiwynn®.

According to market research firm IDC's report titled, "Worldwide Solid State Drive Forecast, 2015-2019," the industry is transitioning toward PCIe-based solid state drives (SSDs), with these devices estimated to be more than 40 percent of enterprise SSD revenue by 2019. With target applications including PCIe SSD enclosures, flash arrays, multi-host architectures and high density and blade servers, Microsemi's Switchtec PCIe switches are engineered to scale PCIe flash in high performance data center applications, providing high reliability PCIe with advanced error containment capabilities, the industry's most flexible port bifurcation and lowest power, and the industry's highest port and NTB density.

Product Availability
Microsemi's Switchtec PCIe switch Linux drivers and software utilities are available to the public via the open source community now at no cost. Switchtec PCIe Switch Linux kernel patches can be found at http://marc.info/?a=126996651800002&r=1&w=2 and Switchtec open source software utilities are located at https://github.com/sbates130272/switchtec-user.

About Microsemi's PCI Express Product Portfolio
Microsemi is a premier supplier of high value-add PCIe products including the scalable, low power, high-reliability PFX family of PCIe Gen3 fanout switches, the programmable PSX family of PCIe Gen3 storage switches and the low power, multi-protocol, adaptive EQNOX™ family of signal conditioners with FlexEQ™ equalization technology supporting PCIe Gen3 and PCIe Gen2. Microsemi's PCIe family is key to building low power and high reliability data center, enterprise storage, server, communications, defense and industrial servers; workstations; switches; routers; cellular infrastructure and test equipment. For more information about Microsemi's PCIe portfolio, visit http://www.microsemi.com/products/drivers-interfaces-and-pcie-switches/pcie-switches/pcie-switches.

About Microsemi's Product Portfolio for Data Center
Microsemi is a premier supplier of innovative semiconductors, boards, systems, software and services for enterprise and hyperscale data centers, enabling high performance, secure, low power and reliable infrastructure for scalable deployments. Microsemi technologies drive innovation in applications including storage systems, server storage, NVM solutions, Ethernet switching, rack scale architecture, data center interconnect, network timing and power subsystems. Building on a track record of technology leadership, Microsemi's data center infrastructure portfolio is transforming networks that connect, store and move big data, while lowering the total cost of ownership of deploying next generation services. 

The portfolio includes high performance NVMe storage controllers, NVRAM drives, SAS/SATA host bus adapters and RAID controllers enabling high capacity storage architectures, high density PCIe switching and firmware for rack scale architectures, PCIe re-drivers, and Ethernet PHYs for intra-rack connectivity. Microsemi's product portfolio also includes clock and power management, IEEE1588 integrated circuits (ICs) and NTP servers for synchronization across the data center, as well as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and system-on-chip (SoC) FPGAs to perform secure system management of servers and storage. For more information, visit http://www.microsemi.com/applications/data-center.

About Microsemi
Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor and system solutions for aerospace & defense, communications, data center and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and synchronization devices and precise time solutions, setting the world's standard for time; voice processing devices; RF solutions; discrete components; enterprise storage and communication solutions, security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products; Ethernet solutions; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and midspans; as well as custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, and has approximately 4,800 employees globally. Learn more at www.microsemi.com.

Microsemi and the Microsemi logo are registered trademarks or service marks of Microsemi Corporation and/or its affiliates. Third-party trademarks and service marks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Any statements set forth in this news release that are not entirely historical and factual in nature, including without limitation statements related to the availability of its Switchtec PCIe switch Linux drivers and software utilities to the open source community, and its potential effects on future business, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, such factors as rapidly changing technology and product obsolescence, potential cost increases, variations in customer order preferences, weakness or competitive pricing environment of the marketplace, uncertain demand for and acceptance of the company's products, adverse circumstances in any of our end markets, results of in-process or planned development or marketing and promotional campaigns, difficulties foreseeing future demand, potential non-realization of expected orders or non-realization of backlog, product returns, product liability, and other potential unexpected business and economic conditions or adverse changes in current or expected industry conditions, difficulties and costs of protecting patents and other proprietary rights, inventory obsolescence and difficulties regarding customer qualification of products. In addition to these factors and any other factors mentioned elsewhere in this news release, the reader should refer as well to the factors, uncertainties or risks identified in the company's most recent Form 10-K and all subsequent Form 10-Q reports filed by Microsemi with the SEC. Additional risk factors may be identified from time to time in Microsemi's future filings. The forward-looking statements included in this release speak only as of the date hereof, and Microsemi does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

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SOURCE Microsemi Corporation

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