NetLogic Microsystems (NASDAQ:NETL) announced that it has launched volume shipments for its NL10k and NL11k families of advanced knowledge-based processors, optimized to manage the significantly greater requirements of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) processing in next-generation switches and routers.
The company notes that the combination of IPv6 migration and rapid upgrades of networking and telecommunications equipment to 100Gbps line rates has led to an unprecedented demand for these types of 40nm knowledge-based processors. Such chips are designed into next-generation switches, routers, metro aggregation equipment and 3G/4G LTE mobile gateways.
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Netlogic reports that the first of these IPv6 customer systems to adopt the new 40nm knowledge-based processors has begun volume production this quarter, and the company expects that an additional 60 customer programs at more than 17 customers will start their production ramps in the fourth quarter of 2011 and throughout 2012. The company says it has started shipping production volume units to its first Tier One customer, and has shipped pre-production units to over two dozen other customers.
Netlogic's stated contention is that "the exhaustion of IPv4 Internet addresses, driven by the proliferation of connected mobile devices, is forcing service providers and network owners to migrate to the new IPv6 Internet addressing scheme, resulting in an increase of IPv6 traffic across carrier and enterprise networks. Therefore, current system designs are typically supporting up to 33 percent of native IPv6 traffic, a major upgrade from previous generations of IPv4 equipment. This represents approximately double the content of knowledge-based processing per system to support the 4x increase in Internet protocol address widths and the exponential increase in the complexity and throughputs of network traffic."
“The industry move to 100Gbps and IPv6 is leading to what we expect to be the fastest and broadest ramp of our knowledge-based processors in our history as customers are demanding the absolute highest performance devices from us,” says Chris O’Reilly, vice president of marketing at NetLogic Microsystems. “We are pleased to continue to lead the market in breakthrough innovations and product advancements that continue to expand our market and technical leadership in knowledge-based processing.”
Press Release:NetLogic Microsystems Begins Volume Shipments for its Industry-Leading IPv6 Knowledge-based Processors (businesswire.com)