The Invisible Home Network

Gigle's intelligent multi-PHY switches present a highly flexible and scalable solution for distributing high definition video, audio and pictures everywhere within the home, with performance up to 1Gbps, and without the need for new wiring. Gigle's intelligent multi-PHY switches are fully implemented in a single chip requiring no external RAM and minimal support circuitry. The devices support multiple interfaces including: 200Mbps HomePlug AV over powerline; 1Gbps Mediaxtream over powerline, phoneline, or coaxial cable; GMII and MII or dual MII. They create an "Invisible Home Network" which can provide entertainment quality digital content everywhere in the home. This network requires no new wires, no configuration software, and no knowledge of networking technology to install or manage. This is the first network that does not require a user manual. It provides the performance, robustness and reliability service providers require and the simplicity consumers demand.

The best possible coverage is achieved by using high-speed Ethernet over all of the home's existing wiring (powerline, phoneline and coaxial cable). Interface options allow the network to be seamlessly extended to include wireless. The best possible multimedia experience is achieved with a built-in intelligent switching agent that continually monitors changes in link conditions and negotiates with other nodes in the network to determine the optimal paths and bandwidth needed to deliver content based on QoS metrics.

Powerline is the most ubiquitous connection in the home. Gigle's solutions provide the industry's most highly integrated implementation for HomePlug AV. Gigle then adds enhancements known as Mediaxtream (a 1Gbps PHY that can operate over powerline, phoneline, or coaxial cable) and Xtendnet (an intelligent switching agent) that greatly improves performance, noise immunity, and coverage while remaining fully compliant to and interoperable with HomePlug AV. All Gigle devices include an additional MII interface to support the benefits of intelligent switching to include a wireless extension. These enhancements to HomePlug AV operate transparently to the user and are consistent with Gigle's philosophy of extreme user simplicity.

Wired communications systems are inherently more secure than wireless technology simply because your data is not being broadcast in an open environment.  However, it is possible in some situations that data transmission can 'leak' over shared wires beyond your home.  Gigle implements 128-bit AES strong encryption as defined in the HomePlug® AV standard in the 200Mbps HomePlug AV and 1Gbps Mediaxtream channels.  In addition, the adaptive techniques used to modulate the signal between two given points results in a "significant challenge" for an intruder. 

Password keys are automatically generated when a network is initially installed.  Making is transparent to the user.  Gigle devices support SimpleConnect - a simpler way to set up your home network. With just the press of a button, SimpleConnect devices can create or join a secure network.

Xtendnet Intelligent Switching Agent

To optimize performance based on QoS metrics each Gigle device includes an intelligent switching agent technology known as Xtendnet. It can also make intelligent choices between improving coverage and improving performance. Xtendnet continually monitors network conditions and coordinates with other network nodes to determine the best options for information delivery based on QoS metrics, and to ensure each node is reachable.

If coverage is an issue, Xtendnet can force a node to act as a repeater to re-amply communications signals, or in multi-node networks form an adhoc mesh to find the ‘best" connections. If bandwidth is an issue, Xtendnet can use channel bonding to combine traffic onto several channels to improve throughput and latency. The benefits of Xtendnet are available to all connected domains, wired and wireless. When multiple connections are available, Xtendnet provides fault tolerance. For example, it the wireless signal is interrupted, Xtendnet will quickly switch this traffic to a wired path. An alternative to a spanning tree algorithm allows rapid reconfiguration to minimize packet loss. With the Xtendnet smart switching agent, adding more nodes rather than hampering performance actually increases the coverage and routing options making the network more robust. By adding intelligence to the network, Gigle is able to make the network more invisible to the user.

Mesh Networking Over Multiple PHYs - Anywire and WiFi

Gigle's intelligent multi-PHY switches automatically coordinate among themselves to determine how traffic is managed based on Quality of Service rules. This coordination is done with the Xtendnet intelligent switching agent that is integrated in every Gigle device. Xtendnet agents work together to coordinate Gigle devices into forming an adhoc mesh network. The mesh network provides improved coverage at the performance required by the applications. This network can be dynamically configured to operate over different combinations of a home's existing wiring:

  • Ethernet over powerline
  • Ethernet over powerline and coaxial cable
  • Ethernet over powerline and phoneline

An external WiFi device can be added via an MII interface to extend the mesh capabilities to the wireless network. These capabilities include:

  • Optimal path switching – the Xtendnet agents continuously monitor the condition of each connection to determine the best path for network traffic to take.
  • Failover – in the event one connection can no longer transfer information, the information will be seamlessly switched to another connection. Gigle has developed an alternative to the spanning tree algorithm to support the needs of video services that guarantees no loops exist in the network.
  • Bonding – in the even one connection cannot meet the performance desired, several connections can be combined or "bonded" together to form a higher performance virtual connection.

Bonding over multiple PHYs - Anywire and WiFi

Gigle's intelligent multi-PHY switches have the ability to combine several physical connections into a single higher-performance virtual connection when needed. HomePlug AV is a 200Mbps class networking technology that operates over a home's existing powerlines. Mediaxtream is a 1Gbps class networking technology that can operate over a home's existing powerline, phoneline, or coaxial cable. Gigle's devices can seamlessly combine or "bond" traffic together from a HomePlug AV and a Mediaxtream connection to improve the bandwidth for the traffic, regardless of the physical wiring used for the connections. If an external WiFi device is added, then the WiFi connection and also be bonded together with HomePlug AV, Mediaxtream or both.

By being able to bond several poorly performing connections, Gigle's intelligent multi-PHY switches can provide the best possible performance and coverage in the home – and do this completely transparent to the user.

200Mbps HomePlug AV

HomePlug AV is a 200Mbps class powerline networking standard developed by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. It is designed to provide a simple, secure, and robust, high-quality, multi-stream, entertainment oriented networking over existing AC wiring within the home. HomePlug AV is the most widely deployed powerline communications technology and is an open standard that is supported by a wide variety of products from multiple vendors.

Designed as a consumer oriented networking standard, HomePlug AV includes Advanced Network Management functions that provide a true user plug-and-play configuration, while also supporting advanced services needed by service providers. Nodes can be added to a network with a simple button press that provides includes automatic generation of security keys. Network is security based on 128-bit AES and makes provision for dynamic (automatic) change of the encryption keys and for several different user experiences in setting up security and admitting stations to the network. The design allows a station to participate in multiple AV networks.

Gigle's intelligent multi-PHY switches have been certified compliant to the HomePlug AV standard and products using Gigle's technology have passed interoperability testing with technology from other vendors.

Mediaxtream—1Gbps Anywire PHY

Mediaxtream is a flexible, robust, efficient, wideband multi-carrier PHY technology that is designed to deliver a channel rate of approximately 1Gbps on a variety of different mediums of different qualities. Whether on powerline, coaxial cable or phoneline, it can be operated simultaneously and independently to the HomePlug AV channel, offering almost limitless degrees of flexibility for different deployment topologies. Mediaxtream coexists with all current powerline, coax and phoneline based technologies.

1Gbps Ethernet or Dual 100Mbps Ethernet

Gigle's intelligent multi-PHY switches support both MAC and PHY configurations of the IEEE 802.3 GMII and MII ports. Either an IEEE 802.3 GMII or dual MII ports are available on the 1Gbps device, while two IEEE 802.3 MII ports are available on the 200Mbps devices. This allows a glueless interface to external IEEE 802.3 physical layer devices or switches, including IEEE 802.11 WiFi devices. This flexible interface is ideal for embedded designs that where an external CAT-5 Ethernet cable and WiFi connection are both desired.

The GMII and MII ports support the mesh networking capabilities of Gigle's intelligent multi-PHY switches. Enabling features such as channel bonding and network fail over to extend to both wired and wireless Ethernet.

"Everything thing" in a Single Chip Design

Gigle's intelligent multi-PHY switches are fully integrated in a single CMOS integrated circuit housed in a 100-lead TQFP package. This includes the analogue front-end, modem DSP, buffer RAM and the Xtendnet intelligent switching engine, and line driver. No external RAM memory is required as the Xtendnet intelligent switching agent and packet buffers are completely on-chip.

By providing the highest level of integration in the industry, Gigle is able to optimize for the lowest total system cost, and a more compact product design when compared to alternative multi-chip solutions.