Broadcom Introduces First Serial RAID-on-Chip (RoC)

Highly Integrated PCI Express™-Based SATA RoC Solution Brings Enterprise-Class RAID Functionality to Volume Server and Storage Platforms

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct 25, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via Comtex/ -- Storage Networking World Show -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a leading provider of highly integrated semiconductor solutions enabling broadband communications, today announced the availability of the industry's first Serial RAID-on-Chip (RoC) device that brings a level of data reliability and availability to cost- sensitive server and storage platforms that were typically available only with high-end enterprise-class storage systems. Broadcom's new RoC device is designed to be shipped as a standard offering with all classes of storage subsystems including external RAID controller cards, chassis-based servers, rack-mounted servers and blade servers.

The introduction of the industry's first Serial-ATA (SATA) RAID-on-Chip device provides a major benefit for IT professionals in the high-volume, low- end server segment requiring cost-effective RAID solutions that take advantage of low cost, high capacity SATA disk drives. The Broadcom® BCM5773 RoC device combines storage processing functions with I/O bridging and advanced software technologies that enable system designers to effectively address cost and space concerns through the implementation of RAID-on-motherboard (RoMB) solutions using SATA disk drives compared to more costly multi-chip or host bus adapter (HBA) solutions.

The exponential growth of disk drive capacity has created significant reliability and performance issues for users of today's storage products that can be addressed with RAID technology. The data loss due to a drive failure continues to increase proportionally with the growth of disk drive capacity, creating ever greater needs for redundancy and data recovery.

In addition, the sustained data throughput of disk drives has not kept up with disk drive capacity growth, resulting in diminishing performance per unit of storage. While enterprise customers have adopted advanced forms of RAID technology (i.e. RAID5) to solve these reliability and performance problems, the high cost and complexity of these RAID solutions have led to limited adoption by cost sensitive customers. As small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) continue to adopt SATA disk drives for storing business critical information, the requirement for cost-effective, high performing RAID solutions that boost reliability and performance becomes even more critical.

"RAID5 fault tolerance in low-end servers is an IT manager's goal, but has always been cost prohibitive. Bringing RAID5 capabilities to low-end and mid- range servers is great for cost-sensitive businesses who need highly-effective data protection," said Tony Asaro, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. "Broadcom is one of few semiconductor providers that can offer RAID storage to all levels of businesses, including SMBs, who can now implement enterprise- level RAID features without the cost and IT-intensive processes that have kept RAID from more widespread use."

The BCM5773 RoC device integrates several functions that previously existed as discrete components: 

     *  Eight SATA ports supporting native command queuing (NCQ) and tagged
        command queuing (TCQ) - SATA protocols that improve drive performance
     *  Choice of PCI Express™ and PCI-X™ host interfaces with an
        integrated bridging option
     *  Embedded MIPS® processor to run RAID firmware including the Broadcom
        XelCore™ RAID software stack
     *  RAID5 hardware acceleration logic that enables high data reliability
        and availability with minimum CPU utilization
     *  Double data rate (DDR) memory controller that provides an industry
        standard memory interface

This high level of integration simplifies RAID on motherboard designs by reducing multiple board level components while reducing power consumption. This is achieved by eliminating multiple interfaces between discrete devices, contributing to significant cost and space savings for server and storage OEMs looking to offer enterprise-class RAID functionality to their cost-sensitive SMB customers.

Additional enterprise-class RAID functionality is provided by Broadcom's highly portable XelCore RAID software. The XelCore software provides support for all popular RAID levels, as well as enterprise-class features such as online capacity expansion, controller spanning, online RAID level migration, and the ability to create storage arrays that span multiple controllers without having to bring the system down.

"The BCM5773 RoC device, combined with the XelCore RAID software, represents a total storage solution and introduces a powerful new paradigm in storage I/O solution design," said Tom Marmen, Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Storage Line of Business. "System designers are now able to develop a completely new generation of server platforms, with integrated storage capabilities for emerging high-speed serial interfaces like SATA, while reducing design and qualification time."

Pricing and Availability

The BCM5773 and associated PCI Express and PCI-X reference boards are currently available to early access customers. Pricing is available upon request.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a leading provider of highly integrated semiconductor solutions that enable broadband communications and networking of voice, video and data services. We design, develop and supply complete system- on-a-chip (SoC) solutions incorporating digital, analog, radio frequency (RF), microprocessor and digital signal processing (DSP) technologies, as well as related hardware and software system-level applications. Our diverse product portfolio addresses every major broadband communications market, and includes solutions for digital cable and satellite set-top boxes; high definition television (HDTV); cable and digital subscriber line (DSL) modems and residential gateways; high-speed transmission and switching for local, metropolitan, wide area and storage networking; home and wireless networking; cellular and terrestrial wireless communications; Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateway and telephony systems; broadband network and security processors; and SystemI/O™ server solutions. These technologies and products support our core mission: Connecting everything®.

Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and may be contacted at 1-949-450-8700 or at http://www.broadcom.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward- looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with the BCM5773 RAID-on-Chip products include, but are not limited to, general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the volatility in the technology sector and semiconductor industry, trends in the broadband communications markets in various geographic regions, and possible disruption in commercial activities related to terrorist activity or armed conflict in the United States and other locations; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets for enterprise and consumer storage and storage networking applications; delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those markets; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders and our ability, as well as the ability of our customers, to manage inventory; our ability to retain, recruit and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees in the positions and numbers, with the experience and capabilities, and at the compensation levels needed to implement our business and product plans; our ability to specify, develop or acquire, complete, introduce, market and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a cost- effective and timely manner; the gain or loss of a key customer, design win or order; competitive pressures and other factors such as the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; our ability to scale our operations in response to changes in demand for our products and services; the timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the risks of non-qualification or non-certification; our ability to timely and accurately predict market requirements and evolving industry standards and to identify opportunities in new markets; changes in our product or customer mix; the volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume sales; intellectual property disputes and customer indemnification claims and other types of litigation risk; the availability and pricing of third party semiconductor foundry and assembly capacity and raw materials; fluctuations in the manufacturing yields of our third party semiconductor foundries and other problems or delays in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our products; the risks of producing products with new suppliers and at new fabrication and assembly facilities; the effects of new and emerging technologies; problems or delays that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in achieving higher levels of design integration; the quality of our products and any remediation costs; the effectiveness of our expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; the risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations, particularly in light of recent events; the effects of natural disasters, public health emergencies, international conflicts and other events beyond our control; the level of orders received that can be shipped in a fiscal quarter; and other factors. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason.

Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, the Connecting everything logo, SystemI/O™, and XelCore™ are trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. PCI Express™ and PCI-X™ are trademarks of PCI-SIG Corporation. MIPS® is a trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners. 

     Broadcom Trade Press Contact       Broadcom Business Press Contact
     Scott Harlin                       Bill Blanning
     Sr. Communications Specialist      Sr. Director, Corporate Communications
     949-926-5226                       949-926-5555
     sharlin@broadcom.com               blanning@broadcom.com

     Broadcom Technical Contact         Broadcom Investor Relations Contact
     Cameron Brett                      T. Peter Andrew
     Product Line Manager               Sr. Director, Investor Relations
     408-922-3122                       949-926-5663
     cbrett@broadcom.com                andrewtp@broadcom.com

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation 

Trade Press, Scott Harlin, Sr. Communications Specialist,
+1-949-926-5226, or sharlin@broadcom.com, or Business Press, Bill Blanning,
Sr. Director, Corporate Communications, +1-949-926-5555, or
blanning@broadcom.com, or Technical, Cameron Brett, Product Line Manager,
+1-408-922-3122, or cbrett@broadcom.com, or Investor, T. Peter Andrew, Sr.
Director, Investor Relations, +1-949-926-5663, or andrewtp@broadcom.com, all
of Broadcom

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