Diane Vanasse
Marvell Public Relations
408-242-0027
dvanasse@marvell.com

Marvell Introduces Industry's First Fully Integrated, "Plug and Play," DSP-Based Five-Port 10/100 Ethernet Switch

Sunnyvale, California (September 25, 2000) — Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL), a technology leader in the development of extreme broadband DSP-based mixed-signal integrated circuits for communications-related markets, today announced the industry's first "plug and play," DSP-based, fully integrated five-port 10/100BASE-T Ethernet Switch for the small office/home office (SOHO) market.

Marvell's single-chip, five-port 10/100 Ethernet Switch, the 88E6050, integrates five 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX transceivers, five independent Fast Ethernet media access controllers (MACs), a high-speed non-blocking switch fabric, a high-performance address look-up engine, a 1 Mbit embedded frame buffer memory into a single 128-pin PQFP package, and fiber connection capabilities.

Targeted at the competitive LAN switch market, the Marvell 88E6050 reduces the design complexities and time-to-market barriers typically associated with switch development. The device is an ideal solution for the small office/home office (SOHO) where cost, ease-of-use and flexibility are of paramount importance. As compared to other available devices on the market today, Marvell's integrated chip provides true "plug and play" networking installation with its Automatic-MDI/MDIX crossover feature. It offers the benefit of end-to-end wiring tolerance and correction without the need for external crossover cable. Marvell's 88E6050 automatically detects and corrects incorrectly wired cables, making installation, debug and maintenance of the network easier and less expensive for the end-user.

"A critical factor in the high-volume, cost-sensitive SOHO market is to ensure ease of installation. Marvell's integrated DSP-based Ethernet switch, targeted at end-users that may not have access to an IT support infrastructure, is a true "plug and play" solution. The device's Automatic-MDI/MDIX capability eliminates the end-user from having to configure the network, making it very easy and cost-effective to install and add additional network connections," stated Weili Dai, Marvell's Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Data Communications Group.

With the growing popularity of broadband connections to the Internet, such as xDSL and cable modems, small businesses and consumers are looking to be able to collaborate and communicate more effectively by sharing files, printers, network resources, and internet access. The Marvell 88E6050 device is well-suited for these types of applications. Another application segment that benefits from this integrated device is office "port extension", where additional network ports are required within an office environment. With Marvell's single chip, five-port 10/100BASE-T Ethernet switch, end-users may expand their office network from one to four 10/100 Ethernet ports.

88E6050 Product Information

Marvell's fully integrated five port 10/100BASE-T Ethernet Switch, the 88E6050, is fully compliant with the applicable sections of IEEE 802.3 and 802.3u and 802.3x standards. The device can be configured as a standalone five port 10/100BASE-TX switch. A second mode of operation is supported whereby the 88E6050 may be configured as a four-port 10/100BASE-TX switch with a fifth port used as a 100BASE-FX fiber uplink. Finally the 88E6050 may be used in a router/firewall application, where the fifth port may be configured in reverse MII mode, and used as an interface to low cost CPU between the switch and the broadband connection - such as xDSL or cable modem.

The PHY units in the 88E6050 are designed with Marvell's cutting-edge mixed-signal processing technology for digital implementation of adaptive equalization and clock data recovery. Special power management techniques are used to facilitate low power dissipation and high integration.

The shared memory-based switch fabric uses Marvell's latest switch architecture that provides high-speed non-blocking switching performance in all traffic environments. Optional back-pressure and pause frame-based flow control schemes are supported to ensure zero packet loss under traffic congestion. The look-up engine allows for up to 4,096 active nodes to be connected with the switch.

Each port of the 88E6050 can work at 10Mbps or 100Mbps, at full duplex or half duplex mode. Additionally, port 0 can be configured as 100BASE-TX, 100BASE-FX, 10BASE-T, or as a reversed MII interface. Automatic-MDI/MDIX crossover for 100BASE-TX and 10BASE-T ports is provided, which simplifies and reduces the cost of networking installation by working with any combination of normal or crossed-over cables with MDI ports (typically in end stations like PCs) and MDIX ports (typically in switches).

The 88E6050 provides flexible LED support for Link, Speed Duplex, Mode, Collision, and Tx/Rx activities. This direct-drive comprehensive LED support eliminates the cost of external LED latches and drivers.

Marvell's 88E6050 five-port Fast Ethernet Switch uses advanced DSP architecture, advanced mixed-signal processing and high-speed digital circuit technology to implement digital adaptive equalization, clock data recovery, baseline wander correction circuitry, Auto-Negotiation, and speed-auto-sensing support. Marvell's high precision analog-to-digital converters result in robust performance in noisy environments with the added feature of low power dissipation. Marvell's mixed-signal and DSP design techniques result in high differential/integral linearity, high power supply noise rejection and low error rates.

Availability

Marvell's five-port 10/100BASE-T Ethernet Switch, 88E6050, is available today and is offered in a standard 128-pin PQFP package.

About Marvell

Marvell is comprised of Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MTGL) and its subsidiaries, Marvell Semiconductor Inc. (MSI), Marvell Asia Pte Ltd. (MAPL) and Marvell Japan K.K. (MJKK). On behalf of MTGL, MSI develops proprietary Communications Mixed-Signal Processing (CMSP) technology for increased information capacity of data storage and data communications products. MAPL is headquartered in Singapore and is responsible for Marvell's production and distribution operations. As used in this release, the terms "Company" and "Marvell" refer to the entire group of companies. The Company's proprietary CMSP technology combines custom digital signal processing algorithms to allow technology customers to store and move digital data on demand at high data access rates. MSI is headquartered at 645 Almanor Ave., Sunnyvale, Calif., 94085; phone: (408) 222-2500, fax: (408) 328-0120.

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

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our products, our industry, our markets, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "is" "should" and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, market results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements in this release.

Important risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause such a difference for Marvell in connection with the 88E6050 device include, but are not limited to, the timing, cost and successful completion of underlying technology and final product development through volume production for the 88E6050 device; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt this product; and, the timing and results of customer-industry qualification and certification of our 88E6050 product; and, the timing, pricing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders for the 88E6050 device.

For other factors that could cause the Company's results to vary from expectations, please see the 'Risk Factors' section of Marvell's Registration Statement on Form S-1 relating to the Company's initial public offering and the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2000.