Embedded Processor Watch

MicroDesign Resources --- September 15, 1999 #65

Editor: Tom Halfhill

In This Issue:

• Intel Network Processor Targets Routers
• IDT Unveils New 64600 Core
• Industry Resources: E-Wiz Knows Merced Isn't for Rafting
• Embedded IC Announcements

Intel Network Processor Targets Routers

Only Intel could have this kind of luck: it gets sued by Digital Semiconductor for patent infringement, ends up acquiring its foe after an out-of-court settlement, gains a billion-dollar fab and a StrongArm license in the deal, and then discovers it has also inherited a groundbreaking network processor that was secretly under development. Perhaps Intel should encourage competitors to file lawsuits more often.

The network processor is the IXP1200, unveiled at the Intel Developer Forum. It's an extremely dense device that integrates seven microprocessor cores on a single die for chip multiprocessing (CMP). Designed primarily as a substitute for the discrete RISC processors and ASICs in network routers, the IXP1200 can manage 24 independent threads of execution for the highly parallel, data-intensive task of steering packets toward their destinations on networks. Intel says a conservatively clocked (166-MHz) IXP1200 can perform layer-3 routing for 2.5 million 64-byte packets per second.

To meet the future demands of multigigabit and terabit routers, system designers can link dozens or even hundreds of IXP1200 chips together in a complex switching fabric. One vendor is already working on a 180-chip chassis. Priced to move at $200, the IXP1200 will send shock waves through an industry that's used to paying more for proprietary ASICs that can take years to develop.

More important, the IXP1200 is just the opening shot in a broad Intel assault on the communications market. It's the first product in what Intel calls the Internet Exchange Architecture (IXA), which will include companion chips, development tools, and future network processors with even more integration. To promote IXA, Intel is starting a quarterly IXA Developer Forum, setting up a $200 million development fund and refocusing part of its $3.5 billion investment portfolio on communications. More acquisitions are a sure bet.

It's apparent that Intel views communications as a strategic growth market, not just as a sideline to its desktop/server CPU business. Intel's IXP1200 validates network processors as a category distinct from other types of processors, sends an unmistakable message about future pricing strategy, and sets the bar for potential competitors -- such as IBM Microelectronics and C-Port, which announced similar network processors at about the same time. All that with a chip that Intel acquired by accident. It's like Bill Gates winning the lottery.--T.R.H. (The full version of this article appeared in the September 13 issue of Microprocessor Report.)

IDT Unveils New 64600 Core

IDT is augmenting its line of MIPS-compatible processors with a third 64-bit core designed for high-performance embedded applications. The new RISCore 64600 has a dual-issue out-of-order microarchitecture with bilevel branch prediction, dual 64K primary caches, a vector floating-point unit, a vector integer unit, and special instructions for digital-signal processing (DSP). It was jointly developed with SandCraft, which contributed key technology for the multimedia and DSP functions. IDT and other CPU vendors will need high-performance cores like the RC64600 to meet the challenge of new architectures optimized for networking tasks.--T.R.H. (The full version of this article appeared in the September 13 issue of Microprocessor Report.)

Industry Resources: E-Wiz Knows Merced Isn't for Rafting

Cahners Electronics Group has launched a revamped Web site called e-Insite that provides easy access to material from its various publications, which include EDN, Electronic News, Electronic Business, and our own Microprocessor Report. The site also supports a new search engine, called e-Wiz, that searches more than 1,000 selected electronics sites, including vendors, newsgroups, and non-Cahners publications. Unlike Alta Vista, e-Wiz won't return white-water rafting tips on a "Merced" search. Check it out at http://www.e-insite.net/.

Embedded IC Announcements

ACS406 (Semtech): a four-channel modem chip set for T1/E1 fiber-optic modems that includes an analog transceiver chip and a mixed-signal mux/demux chip; supports full-duplex synchronous operation over a single fiber cable. Price: $72/1,000; production: now. Call Semtech at 805.498.2111 or go to http://www.semtech.com/.

HCS412 (Microchip): a single-chip code-hopping encoder and transponder for secure entry systems; uses the KEELOQ algorithm and 32-bit bidirectional challenge-and-response control. Price: $1.31/1,000; samples: now; production: 3Q99. Call Microchip at 480.786.7668 or go to http://www.microchip.com/.