San Jose, Calif., July 17, 2008 — Micrel Inc., (Nasdaq:MCRL), an industry leader in analog, high bandwidth communications and Ethernet IC solutions, today launched the KSZ8851, a single-port embedded controller chip with 8/16/32-bit and SPI host interfaces. The high throughput device is pin compatible with Micrel’s KSZ8841 and KSZ8842 product families and ideal for a wide variety of Ethernet applications in the IPSTB, VoIP, and Industrial Ethernet markets . The device will be available in production quantities in Q3 2008, and is priced at $4.00 for 1K quantities.

“With more than 250 Million ports shipped since 1999, Ethernet continues to require higher and higher throughput devices,” noted Richard Bowers, Micrel’s director of marketing for Ethernet. “ Micrel’s new KSZ8851 gives existing customers the industry’s h ighest throughput embedded controller that also features Industry support for SPI interface (32-pin QFN) and a small package option for generic bus interface (48-pin LQFP).”

The KSZ8851 integrates a Fast Ethernet MAC/PHY with an 8/16/32-bit generic host processor interface and SPI interface. The device has 18KB of internal buffer memory shared between the RXQ and TXQ. The buffer memory on the receive queue is 12KB, while the buffer memory for the transmit queue is 6KB. Pin compatible with Micrel’s existing KSZ8841MQL and KSZ8842MQL families, the device offers performance at 80Mbps or higher. The solution supports both Big-Endian and Little-Endian processors as well as IPv4/IPv6 checksum generation and checking. These features greatly reduce CPU usage and improve overall system performance. The KSZ8851 also gives designers an e nhanced power management feature with energy detect mode, programmable IO options of 3.3V/2.5V/1.8V and an industrial temperature range of –40-degC to +85-degC. Finally, the device comes in a variety of package options including 128-pin PQFP, 48-pin LQFP and 32-pin QFN.

About Micrel Inc.
Micrel Inc., is a leading global manufacturer of IC solutions for the worldwide analog, Ethernet and high bandwidth markets. The Company’s products include advanced mixed-signal, analog and power semiconductors; high performance communication, clock management, Ethernet switch and physical layer transceiver ICs. Company customers include leading manufacturers of enterprise, consumer, industrial, mobile, telecommunications, automotive, and computer products. Corporation headquarters and state-of-the-art wafer fabrication facilities are located in San Jose, CA, with regional sales and support offices and advanced technology design centers situated throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. In addition, the Company maintains an extensive network of distributors and reps worldwide. Web: http://www.micrel.com.

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Contact:
Julieanne DiBene, Marketing Communications
1-408-474-1276
Julie.DiBene@Micrel.com