Time sensitive networking solutions

Microsemi Corporation announces enhancements to its Managed Ethernet Switching software solutions, namely its SMBStaX, IStaX and Carrier Ethernet (CE) services packages, targeted at enterprise, industrial and carrier applications.

Microsemi will be showcasing the new networking capabilities of the software solutions during COMPUTEX, June 5th-9th, 2018 in Taipei, Taiwan, with product experts on hand at the Grand Hyatt Taipei.



Microsemi Ethernet silicon and software portfolios are aimed at providing customers with feature-rich managed switching solutions ready for deployment.

By expanding this software portfolio to include Layer 3 routing protocols, the company enables a full range of Internet Protocol (IP) networking devices spanning from small medium businesses (SMB)/small medium enterprises (SME) switches to aggregation switches.

Support for Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) broadens the solution capabilities to support real time behaviour such as deterministic latency and increased reliability needed by communication networks, including industrial internet of things (IoT).

“The TSN capabilities demonstration and IP networking enhancements to our software represent Microsemi’s continued investments to provide our customers with feature-rich managed Ethernet switching solutions,” said Uday Mudoi, vice president of marketing at Microsemi. “Our software solution enables better time to market, lower cost of development and higher return on investment for our customers. In addition, our Linux-based software development kit (SDK) also allows easier integration of open source protocols by our customers to deliver managed Ethernet switching solutions for a variety of applications from enterprise to industrial IoT.”

In addition to developing the new features of its XStaX software packages, the Microsemi team has also built a flexible support model allowing customers to obtain its source code and develop additional applications on top of the company’s SDK—a particularly important capability in engagements requiring full Software stack with variety of management options.

“Network managers are looking for equipment with advanced capabilities, such as management features, power-over-Ethernet and higher speeds, to accommodate the increasing demands applications place on their network infrastructure,” said Matthias Machowinski, senior research director at IHS Markit. “That’s why managed switches account for the majority of Ethernet switch port shipments—with 61% in 2017—and we expect this segment to continue taking share in the years to come, at the expense of unmanaged switches.”

The customer base for Microsemi’s Linux-based WebStaX, SMBStaX, IStaX and CE services software packages are growing rapidly since their recent introductions. To accommodate the additional features required by the software packages, Microsemi has integrated and further enhanced the Layer 3 dynamic routing protocols based on open source community software, leveraging the advantages of working along with the Linux community of developers.

While the company’s WebStaX and SMBStaX SDKs are ideally suited for the enterprise market, IStaX and CE services SDKs are targeted for industrial and carrier solutions. With the software available now, Microsemi also continues to support a full range of networking protocols and management options for enterprise, carrier and industrial applications. The company’s engagement flexibility offers customers a full range of options from application programming interface (API) to full turnkey engagement via third party collaboration or co-development with Microsemi.