Vitesse Crosspoint Switches Set Performance Benchmarks for Datacenter Upgrades and Build-outs

Achieves Industry`s Best 1.2 Tbps Switching Capacity for 8G Fibre Channel
Applications

CAMARILLO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation (Pink Sheets: VTSS) today announced production
availability of new crosspoint switch devices that enable a dramatic 2x speed
and bandwidth improvement in datacenter switches and network storage equipment.
The devices feature Vitesse`s industry-leading signal integrity technology which
allows transmission and signal recovery of high-speed signals over lossy printed
circuit board, backplane, and cable media. As the industry migrates from 4G to
8G Fibre Channel to upgrade communication bandwidth, Vitesse`s crosspoint and
signal integrity technology is required to enable high-speed switching and
signal propagation amongst servers, workstations, and network storage systems.
OEMs are supporting 8G Fibre Channel in various switch and blade server card
products as a result of the increased demand for remote data storage, network
capacity, server-to-storage, and server-to-server networking.

The new products include the 8.5G 144X144 channel VSC3144-08 and the 8.5G 4X4
channel VSC3303 crosspoint switches. The industry`s highest-capacity
semiconductor device, the VSC3144-08 delivers breakthrough 1.224 Terabit per
second (Tbps) switching capacity. The VSC3303 is a new, low-power device ideal
for board edge placement to clean up signals transmitted across the system
backplane. Each device supports a wide frequency range encompassing virtually
all data protocols, including Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), XAUI, Reduced XAUI
(RXAUI), SAS/SATA, InfiniBand as well as emerging services such as 8G Fibre
Channel. Used together, these advanced crosspoints enable low-latency, fully
non-blocking switching capability on line cards and switch cards used in Core,
Metro, and Enterprise environments.

"We see tremendous industry migration to 8G Fibre Channel across storage
networks with customers running more traffic, at higher-speeds, over fewer
links, in smaller system footprints. Vitesse`s VSC3144-08 and VSC3303 uniquely
enable this migration by providing a seamless, pin-compatible speed upgrade up
to 8.5 Gbps per channel," said Juan Garza, product marketing manager, at
Vitesse. "Vitesse is playing a key role in delivering devices that enable a
world-class performance system-level upgrade path for line cards and central
switch cards critical to storage and networking equipment."

Newest Members of Industry`s Highest-Performance Crosspoint Switch Portfolio

Boasting over a decade of crosspoint switch and signal integrity breakthroughs,
the VSC3144-08 is the latest flagship product to be added to Vitesse`s
crosspoint product line. The device is footprint compatible to Vitesse`s
previous generation devices, allowing a pin-compatible speed upgrade path for
customers using the Vitesse 4.25G VSC3140or 6.5G VSC3144 products. Otherfeatures
for the VSC3144-08 include:

* DC-to-8.5 Gbps fully differential signal paths with protocol-independent
operation
* Adjustable input signal equalization with per-channel and global control
* Adjustable output pre-emphasis with per-channel and global control
* Lowest power available at this bandwidth level with 21W power consumption

The VSC3303 features Vitesse`s exclusive dual time constant, programmable output
signal pre-emphasis. This allows the VSC3303 to compensate for multiple
impairments and discontinuities in a signal path introduced by connectors and
long PCB traces. The smaller form factor of the VSC3303 is designed to route,
drive, and restore 8.5G signals on line cards by utilizing Vitesse`s FlexEQ
adaptive equalization and Electronic Dispersion Compensation (EDC) technology.
The VSC3303 consumes only 200 mW per channel, dramatically reducing power
requirements by up to 50 percent over previous generation devices. Other
features of the VSC3303 include:

* DC-to-8.5 Gbps fully differential signal paths with protocol-independent
operation
* Loss of signal (LOS) detecting and transmitting for out-of-band (OOB) support
of SAS/SATA storage protocols
* Fully non-blocking and multicasting switch core and flexible fourth-generation
equalization and pre-emphasis I/O capability
* Input equalization
* Dual-decay pre-emphasis works independently of the data rate and provides
compensation for deterministic jitter across a wide range of operating
conditions without re-tuning

Both crosspoint switches can be programmed through a flexible, multimode
programming interface that allows both per-channel and global configuration,
enabling maximum customization for applications. Unused channels may be powered
down for efficient use of the switch in applications that require only a subset
of the channels.

Product Availability

The VSC3144-08 is offered in a 45 mm X 45 mm, 1.27 mm pin pitch, 1072-pin BGA
package. The VSC3303 is available in an ultra-compact 7mm X 7mm, 1mm pin pitch,
36-pin FCBGA package. Evaluation Systems and samples for both devices are
available now.

About Vitesse

Vitesse designs, develops, and markets a diverse portfolio of high-performance,
cost-competitive semiconductor solutions for Carrier and Enterprise Ethernet
networks worldwide. Engineering excellence and dedicated customer service
distinguish Vitesse as an industry leader in Gigabit Ethernet LAN,
Ethernet-over-SONET, Fibre Channel, Serial Attached SCSI, Optical Transport, and
other applications. Vitesse innovation empowers customers to deliver superior
products for enterprise, access, metro, and core applications. Additional
company and product information is available at www.vitesse.com.

Vitesse is a registered trademark and FlexEQ is a trademark in the United States
and/or other jurisdictions of Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation. All other
trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their
respective holders.

Safe Harbor

Statements made in this release that are not historical facts are
"forward-looking" statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995) that involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to
change at any time. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not
limited to, statements containing words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan,"
"estimate," "expect," "hope," "intend," and similar expressions. Factors that
could cause actual results to differ are identified in the public filings made
by Vitesse with the Securities and Exchange Commission and include the fact that
we have disclosed that you should not rely upon our published financial
statements and the fact that we have not filed all of our reports required by
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. More information on factors that could
affect our business and financial results are included in our public filings
made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on the web
site of the Securities and Exchange Commission, www.sec.gov.

The forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond our control. We caution
investors that any forward-looking statements made by us are not guarantees of
future performance. We disclaim any obligation to update any such factors or to
announce publicly the results of any revisions to any of the forward-looking
statements to reflect future events or developments.

Vitesse
Ronda Grech
+1.805.388.3700
pressrelations@vitesse.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009