Some key features of the KSZ8873 family are listed on this page and will now be discussed in a bit more detail. The first feature to note is that the ESD rating of the 8873 is greater than 5 kilovolts. Compared to a typical switch on a chip solution which supports only 2 to 3 kilovolts, the 8873 is rated higher. The power consumption of the KSZ8873 is about 426mW typical and supports power savings at multiple levels which will be discussed later. Besides the chip level power savings, Microchip also supports functions that enable system level power savings. For example, the ports 1 and 2 bypass mode will enable Ethernet packet flow at port 1 and port 2, while the CPU connected to port 3 enters power savings mode. This is very much desired in applications like the IP-STB (internet protocol set-top box) in which the CPU enters power savings mode when the user is not watching TV, but still stays connected to the internet. Also, the 8873 allows very flexible interface support by providing dual MII interfaces in the 8873MML. This enables applications to merge data packets from 2 separate CPU chips onto one Ethernet port. Microchip also provides fiber channel support with the 8873FLL that supports IPTV POF (plastic optical fiber) applications. In regard to cost savings, an internally generated 50MHz clock is provided for the RMII mode, eliminating the need for an external 50MHZ oscillator. Finally, the 8873 is manufactured in a small 64 pin LQFP package size. Compared to the previous generation of the 3 port switch, the KSZ8873 saves about 65% board space.