3Ware 2003 Annual Report Download - page 10

Traffic Management and Switching Layer: Our traffic management ICs receive and transmit signals from
and to the network processor and primarily perform the queuing and buffering required on packets before the
information is sent to the switch fabric. Our switch fabric ICs then switch the information in the proper priority
and to the proper destinations.
In fiscal 2002, we introduced the nPX5700, a 10Gbps traffic management solution. Additionally, we
introduced two new packet switching solutions, the nPX5800 targeted for system switching capacities of 160
Gbps and below and the nPX8000, a packet/cell switch capable of scaling to 1.2 terabits per second of switching
capacity. Our current customers for traffic management and switching layer products include Alcatel, Cisco,
Fujitsu, Inrange, Lucent, Nortel and Siemens.
Automated Test Equipment, Military and High-Speed Computing Products: We are not currently developing
new products for the Automated Test Equipment, known by the acronym ATE, or military markets, but we
continue to sell ASIC products to customers such as Agilent, Harris, IBM, LTX, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon,
Schlumberger, Teradyne and Texas Instruments. The majority of these products were manufactured in our
internal wafer manufacturing facility, which closed in March 2003. We are currently filling last-time-buy orders
for these products. Our high-speed computing products were not manufactured in our internal wafer
manufacturing facility, and we will continue to sell these products for the foreseeable future. The revenue from
such products is expected to be modest.
Technology
We utilize our technological and design expertise to solve the problems of high-speed analog, digital and
mixed-signal circuit designs for the world’s wide area networks. Our technological competencies include the
definition and design of high-performance analog, digital and mixed-signal ICs for optical communications
systems.
Knowledge of Communications ICs
We believe that our systems architects, design engineers and technical marketing and applications engineers
have a thorough understanding of the fiber optic communications systems for which we design and build ASSPs.
Using this systems expertise, we develop semiconductor devices to meet OEMs’ high-bandwidth systems
requirements. By understanding the systems into which our products are designed, we believe that we are better
able to anticipate and develop solutions optimized for the various cost, power and performance trade-offs faced
by our customers. We believe that our systems knowledge also enables us to develop more comprehensive,
interoperable solutions. This allows us to develop boards with products that fulfill customers’ system needs from
fiber-through-switch, enabling faster integration into their products.
Design of Communications ICs
We have developed multiple generations of products that integrate both analog and digital elements on the
same IC, while balancing the difficult trade-offs of speed, power and timing inherent in high-speed applications.
We were one of the first companies to embed analog phase locked loops in bipolar chips with digital logic for
high-speed data transmission and receiver applications. Since the introduction of our first on-chip clock recovery
and clock synthesis products in 1993, we have refined these products and have successfully integrated multiple
analog functions and multiple channels on the same IC. The mixing of digital and analog signals poses difficult
challenges for IC designers, particularly at high frequencies. We have acquired significant expertise in mixed-
signal IC designs through the development of multiple generations of products. We will continue to apply these
competencies in the development of more complex digital products.
Manufacturing of Communications ICs
The manufacturing of communications ICs requires a combination of competencies in advanced silicon
technologies such as deep submicron CMOS and BiCMOS silicon germanium, or SiGe, IC package design and
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