Netronome Targets Convergence of Servers and Networking with Industry`s First Network Flow Processors for Unified Computing

Fabless Semiconductor Company`s 40-Core Processors Remove Barriers between
Multicore and NPU Designs by Combining 20Gbps of Software-Defined I/O,
Virtualization, Content and Security Processing
PITTSBURGH--(Business Wire)--
Netronome, a leading developer of highly programmable semiconductor products
that provide intelligent and secure flow processing for virtualized servers and
network equipment, today announced the availability of the NFP-32xx family of
Network Flow Processors. The NFP-32xx is the industry`s first processor to
remove the barriers in unified computing architectures by combining the NFP`s
high-performance network, content and security processing with general purpose
processors, such as Intel`s IA, through I/O virtualization. Additionally, the
NFP-32xx is the only line of processors backward-compatible with the
market-leading Intel IXP28XX, protecting customers` investment in field-proven
and network-hardened software.

"With such a large base of existing IXP28XX customers, the Netronome NFP is well
positioned to intercept the convergence of the network and data center," said
Bob Wheeler, senior analyst at The Linley Group. "A programmable dataplane, with
hardware-based I/O virtualization and integrated security goes beyond what L2-L3
NPUs, security processors and embedded communication processors individually
offer to meet the requirements of next-generation switches, routers, wireless
infrastructure, appliances and servers."

"The NFP provides existing IXP28XX customers with a path forward for the
evolution of their high-performance product designs," said Rose Schooler,
general manager, Performance Products Division, Intel's Embedded Computing
Group.

High Performance Networking with Power Efficiency

For designers of communications equipment whose network processing requirements
extend beyond simple forwarding, the NFP-32xx provides intelligent packet
processing in a power-efficient design.

* High-Performance: Powered by 40 multi-threaded programmable networking cores
running at 1.4GHz, the NFP delivers over 56 billion instructions per second with
320 hardware threads that optimize memory utilization - allowing for 1800
instructions per packet at 30 million packets per second. This enables 20Gbps of
L2-L7 deep packet processing with line-rate security and I/O virtualization for
millions of simultaneous flows.
* Power Efficiency: Operating at only 15 to 35 watts, the NFP-32xx
revolutionizes green computing by delivering more than four times the power
efficiency of its closest competitor.

"The NFP`s massively parallel microengine architecture has unique advantages
over traditional technologies," said Peder Jungck, founder and CTO at
CloudShield Technologies. "This allows us to achieve a new level of scalability
for our content and network processing platform."

Software-Defined I/O: Programmable Processing for Ultimate Flexibility

Unlike fixed-function ASICs and configurable NPUs, Netronome`s NFPs are the
first fully programmable processors capable of addressing the increasingly
complex requirements of unified computing architectures. Software-defined I/O
supports both L2-L3 packet processing and L4-L7 application- and content-aware
deep packet inspection. This programmability, coupled with line rate packet
processing, provides the highest level of inspection and throughput available in
the industry for traditional NPU applications such as high-performance line
cards.

"Anagran`s products eliminate network congestion by constantly maintaining flow
state for a large number of dynamic applications and protocols," said John
Harper, vice president of engineering at Anagran. "The NFP delivers the
performance and programmability required to allow us to meet our customers`
requirements, while avoiding the costly, lengthy and risky process of a custom
ASIC development."

This unique combination of programmability and performance also enables a new
approach for unified computing adapter cards by replacing dedicated hardware for
FCoE HBAs, iSCSI, TOE and other functions with flexible implementations in
firmware. In addition, virtual switches, load balancers and firewalls required
in unified computing platforms can be implemented allowing virtualized server
vendors to rapidly adapt to the changing standards in the convergence of
networking and computing.

Network Virtualization in Silicon

Virtualized multicore CPUs are increasingly used in switches, routers, and
network appliances for control, data plane, security and other networking
applications. To scale network performance to 10Gbps and beyond the NFP-32xx
offers a PCIe v2.0 implementation including extended SR-IOV with 256 queues to
provide guaranteed bandwidth and low latency access to shared I/O devices.
Netronome`s SR-IOV drivers include configurable algorithms for load balancing to
virtualized multicore CPUs and efficient zero-copy mechanisms that significantly
improve CPU, memory and system bandwidth utilization. In addition to eight PCIe
lanes, the NFP supports a wide range of popular high-speed network interfaces
including dual 25Gbps Interlaken, SPI-4.2 and dual 10Gbps XAUI.

"The NFP offers an exciting new model for optimizing I/O in virtualized server
systems by combining the flexibility of an entirely software-based architecture
with the performance and scalability of dedicated and programmable networking
engines to deliver a powerful I/O fabric on every server," said Simon Crosby,
CTO of the Virtualization and Management Division at Citrix Systems. "With the
rapid increase in the number of VMs per server enabled by Moore's Law, XenServer
can take advantage of the NFP to deliver greater I/O performance with per-VM QoS
guarantees while enforcing multi-tenancy, per-VM ACL policies and security
functions."

Integrated Hardware Acceleration for Security, Content and Parallel Processing

Unified computing architectures place extensive security requirements on the
network. Ranging from coarse policy enforcement using IEEE 802.1AE LinkSec to
granular and stateful flow-based applications such as IPsec and SSL, security
processing is now required for the majority of network traffic. The NFP provides
20Gbps of line rate security processing by embedding hardware acceleration in a
programmable dataplane, including:

* Cryptography engines with support for RC4, 3DES, AES, SHA-1, and the SHA-2
family of algorithms
* PKI engines to accelerate modular exponentiation with up to 2048-bit keys
* 3.5 billion 64-bit hashes per second for security, regular expression and
deduplication applications
* Dedicated hardware for true random number generation
* Support for in-line and look-aside security processing designs

These features increase network performance, decrease latency and free CPU
cycles for added application processing. Further, their integration removes the
need for specialized security processors, decreasing system cost, complexity and
power consumption.

In addition to accelerators for security and content processing, the NFP-32xx
offers integrated hardware features that make it ideally suited for parallel
programming, including CAM instructions for determining inter-thread
dependencies, 44Gbps of next-neighbor interconnects for high performance
pipelines, 3Tbps of switched internal data bus bandwidth, ECC on all memory
busses, local timers and CRC engines, atomic memory engines and a queue manager
for traffic management.

Expansive Ecosystem and Proven Tools

Netronome`s NFPs are supported by a large ecosystem including leading operating
system vendors, complementary silicon, protocol software stacks, system design
services and other tools vendors. Additionally, they are available with a
comprehensive set of development tools offering unmatched ease of use to support
the customer`s design process. Derived from the Intel Developer Workbench (IXA
SDK 4.3), the Netronome Programmer Studio is backward-compatible with customer
software from existing designs, protecting their significant investment. The
Programmer Studio provides existing IXP users a familiar environment, while new
users of the NFP benefit from the robustness of a tool that has been tested and
proven through several generations of product development. The Programmer Studio
reduces development time with a C compiler for high-level programming, a cycle-
and data-accurate simulator, as well as packet and traffic generation tools. The
Netronome tool suite also includes sample and production-ready software, a
customer reference platform for silicon evaluation, and PCIe cards to support
software development.

"We are impressed with the NFP and are excited about the new capabilities and
performance offered," said Dave Arnold, vice president of engineering at Stoke.
"These new capabilities, coupled with backward compatibility to our existing IXP
designs, offer a safe migration path and contribute to Stoke's continued
industry leading performance."

"Netronome is pleased to announce the NFP as a testament to the shared vision we
have with our customers that every packet will be intelligently and securely
processed," said Niel Viljoen, founder and CEO of Netronome. "Customers
migrating from existing IXP28XX designs, and those building new heterogeneous
designs based on the NFP coupled with multicore CPUs are now able to realize
that vision."

Pricing and Availability

The NFP is available in a range of price and performance options spanning from
16 to 40 cores operating at 1.0 or 1.4GHz with optional cryptography support.
With prices starting at $275, the NFP-32xx family of network flow processors are
available for sample orders today, with general availability in Q3 2009.

About Netronome Systems

Netronome is a leading developer of highly programmable semiconductor products
that are used for intelligent flow processing in network and communications
devices. Netronome`s solutions include network flow processors and acceleration
cards that scale to more than 20Gbps. They are used in carrier-grade and
enterprise-class communications products that require deep packet inspection,
flow analysis, content processing, virtualization and security. Netronome is
headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, with core operations in San Jose, CA and
Boxborough, MA, and international locations in the United Kingdom, China and
South Africa. To learn more about Netronome and its products, please visit
www.netronome.com.

Intel is a trademark of Intel Corporation in the US and other countries.

Mindshare PR on behalf of Netronome
Heather Fitzsimmons, 650-947-7400
heather@mindsharepr.com
or
Netronome
Jennifer Mendola, 724-778-3290 (Marketing Manager)
jennifer.mendola@netronome.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009