The SARAM (sequential access and random access memory), a new kind of dual-port memory for communications now and beyond

Asynchronous and synchronous SRAMs and FIFOs are widely used for the packetizing as well as the transfer of data, either from a controller to peripherals, or vice-versa. Although the use of synchronous components has increased, the use of asynchronous components continues to be high. This is generally due to their availability. Synchronous buffers and memories offer many technical advantages, such as the simplification they bring to the system by reducing the overall control and glue logic. A new dual-port RAM, called the SARAM, offers the best of both synchronous and asynchronous interfaces within a single component. In addition, a single SARAM can handle all the ATM bus rates up to the current 2.4 Gbps maximum.