Broadcom® Energy Efficient Networking Product Portfolio
Network equipment of all types can benefit from lower power consumption, which reduces energy costs and lowers overall operating costs for IT organizations. Broadcom® Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) compliant products go beyond the standard to deliver additional energy savings of up to 70 percent per port and provide customers with end-to-end silicon and software solutions that enable faster deployment of energy efficient networks.
Broadcom's extensive portfolio — the broadest in the industry — allows engineers to begin immediate adoption of EEE and gives designers of new Ethernet gear a wide range of options for implementing the new IEEE standard. Broadcom developed its proprietary AutoGrEEEn™ technology to facilitate the adoption of EEE and provide a faster migration path for legacy networking equipment.
AutoGrEEEn technology implements the EEE standard directly into Broadcom PHYs, enabling EEE mode when interfacing with non-EEE enabled MAC devices,. This innovation allows customers to make existing network equipment EEE-compliant by simply changing the PHY devices.
Broadcom's Energy Efficient Networking (EEN) solutions include switch silicon that spans entry level unmanaged to enterprise and metro class switches; single, dual, quad and octal Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) physical layer devices (PHYs); dual and quad 10GbE PHYs; 10/100 and 1GbE controllers, and 10GbE converged network interface controllers (C-NICs).
Going Beyond the Standard
Broadcom drives innovation in communication technology through its leadership in the development of industry standards. Broadcom actively embraces and promotes the IEEE P802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) standard as an integral part of its broad framework to achieve high-performance, low-power technologies at an optimal cost point throughout its wired Ethernet portfolio.
Traditional networks have optimized cost and performance. Next generation networks will add optimized power consumption to make the network energy efficient.
For more about the IEEE P802.3az EE Standard and Broadcom's AutoGrEEN technology, check out the following:
Broadcom goes beyond the EEE standard with its Energy Efficient Networking (EEN) initiative that enables enhanced energy savings beyond what is inherent in the EEE standard, and provides customers with a faster time-to-market for their EEE-compliant solutions.
How Broadcom's EEE Technology Works
This diagram represents an edge device (e.g. a server or client) connected to a node, such as a switch, within a network. The devices are connected via an EEE-enabled Ethernet link. The diagram breaks each of the link partners into its significant sub-systems in an OSI-like fashion starting with the physical layer at the bottom, labeled "PHY", and moving up through the stack. The diagram illustrates the additional power savings enabled through Broadcom's standards-friendly Energy Efficient Networking enhancements. The principles also apply in a switch-to-switch connection.
How Broadcom's EEE Technology Helps the Planet
Estimates show that more than 150 million metric tons of CO2 are used to power IT equipment (10 percent of overall electricity demand) with a global price tag of approximately $16 billion per year (1). The problem may worsen as more systems, from business servers and network printers to home IPTV set-top boxes, are left powered on all the time 24/7.
Broadcom's award-winning proprietary AutoGrEEEn™ technology, allows system designers to reduce power consumption in the physical layer of the network by more than 70 percent per port. This could help reduce CO2 emissions in the U.S. alone by up to 2.85 million metric tons (2).
Key Facts
- The potential of reducing CO2 emissions by 2.85 million metric tons translates to the following equivalencies according to www.epa.gov:
- Annual greenhouse gas emissions from 495 thousand passenger vehicles
- CO2 emissions from 291 million gallons of gasoline
- The electricity use of 314 thousand homes for one year
- Carbon sequestered by 66 million tree seedlings grown for ten years
- Carbon sequestered annually by 551 thousand acres of pine or fir forests
(1) - Lawrence Berkeley Labs estimates the IEEE 802.3 effort alone could save $1.6B in global energy costs. 
(2) - IEEE 802.3az: The Road to Energy Efficient Ethernet - Published November 2010
Potential savings based on the following factors:
- Full deployment of EEE on a population of links equal to those in use today
- Assuming all 10/100 links become 1G
- Some migration of data center links to 10G
Broadcom Gets Involved
- Climate Savers Computing: As a sponsor, Broadcom commits to purchase energy-efficient systems and use power management, and participating in technical and marketing workgroups.
- GreenTouch: Broadcom is part of a consortium of experts who have come together to find new approaches for energy efficiency and to invent radical new technologies that will be at the heart of sustainable networks.
- The Green Grid: As a member, Broadcom shares in The Green Grid's mission of working closely with end-users, technology providers and governments around the world to create standards for more efficient use of resources in data centers.
Pre-Sale Questions:
For questions regarding Broadcom's products or solutions please contact the appropriate sales office, representative or distributor in your area.
