APPLICATIONS

Broadcom Corporation, a leading provider of highly integrated semiconductor solutions enabling broadband communications, today announced NetXtreme II, the company's next generation Gigabit Ethernet controller, which includes an integrated transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) offload engine, iSCSI host bus adapter functionality, remote direct memory access (RDMA) technology, and remote system management. Broadcom NetXtreme II Gigabit Ethernet Controllers are the first controllers in the industry to simultaneously perform storage networking, high-performance clustering, accelerated data networking and remote system management pass- through functions at a cost intended to promote broad adoption of the technology. With the convergence of high-speed networking, storage, clustering, and remote management on a standard Ethernet network, end users can significantly reduce cost by leveraging the existing IT infrastructure. A standard server equipped with current Ethernet controllers cannot efficiently run network, storage and cluster traffic simultaneously over Ethernet, as it takes a significant portion of the CPU's processing power to operate the network at the full line rate. NetXtreme II Controllers bring the necessary performance to run these network functions over a single, converged fabric on today's server platforms. With the introduction of NetXtreme II controllers, Broadcom is presenting the industry with a new class of Ethernet controller called a "converged NIC" (or C-NIC), which combines the functions of four separate networks into one multi-function network incorporating TCP offload, iSCSI, RDMA and in-band management pass-through technology. A TCP/IP offload engine (TOE) shifts the Ethernet protocol processing overhead from the host CPU to the network controller, freeing up the CPU and memory resources, thus allowing increased network throughput. The iSCSI functionality enables low-cost networked storage capabilities over an existing Gigabit Ethernet infrastructure (i.e. network cabling, switches, and routers). RDMA technology enables high performance server clustering and eliminates the burden of excessive memory copies when communicating between servers. The embedded in-band management pass-through technology allows for remote control of a server over a single network connection. "Broadcom's announcement today represents not only the next generation of Ethernet networking technology, but a fundamental change to that technology as well," said Thomas Lagatta, Group Vice President of Broadcom's Enterprise Computing Group. "The NetXtreme II controller is the first device that converges LAN, storage, clustering and remote server management onto a single Ethernet fabric. Server vendors will now have the ability to vastly simplify their systems, lower the total cost of ownership, and significantly improve overall system performance. And, all of this can be done via existing Ethernet network infrastructure." "Multifunction networking lets customers use their existing Ethernet infrastructure in new ways and allows them to manage change in their adaptive enterprise," said Paul Perez, Vice-President, Storage, Networking & Infrastructure, Industry Standard Servers, HP. "HP is committed to working with industry leaders like Broadcom to create innovative, customer-focused technologies that optimize the performance and utilization of IT investments." BCM5706: The First Device in the NetXtreme II Family The BCM5706 is the first device in the NetXtreme II family, which builds upon Broadcom's previous generations of NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet controllers. It is the industry's first and only device that combines a TCP/IP offload engine, iSCSI and RDMA on a single chip. The implementation is optimized for high density rack and blade server LAN-on-motherboard (LOM) and network interface card (NIC) applications, and allows customers to use existing board layouts to upgrade their systems from earlier generations of Broadcom controllers, such as the widely deployed BCM5703. Using the industry-standard NTTTCP benchmark, preliminary testing demonstrates that Broadcom's NetXtreme II controller, running Microsoft(R) TCP Chimney software, improves CPU utilization on a current server by as much as five times over an existing Gigabit Ethernet controller. Broadcom's implementation of the TCP Chimney is the industry's first true, single-chip Ethernet controller to provide TCP/IP offload without external memory. IT Infrastructure to Benefit from C-NICs Converged NICs let customers simplify their IT infrastructure and give them the flexibility to run high-performance data, storage, and clustering over existing, familiar TCP/IP and Ethernet infrastructures. Broader Ethernet use can decrease the total cost of ownership when fewer specialized clustering and storage networks are needed to accommodate aggregate user demand for applications processing and network throughput. C-NICs have significant performance benefits throughout the enterprise and will improve performance on both basic and advanced server applications such as: * IT Infrastructure -- File and print, networking, proxy/caching, security, and systems management; * Web Infrastructure -- Web serving, streaming media; * Business or database processing -- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), On Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) and batch processing; * Decision Support -- Data warehousing/mart, data analysis/mining; and * Technical -- High-performance computing, computer-aided design. Availability and Pricing The BCM5706 is priced at $35 each in high-volume quantities. This price is comparable to existing Gigabit Ethernet controllers and is intended to promote broad adoption in servers. The BCM5706 is pin- and layout-compatible with earlier generations of the NetXtreme product line and is packaged in a 400-pin PBGA package (21 x 21 mm). The product is currently sampling and is expected to ramp to volume production in the fourth quarter of 2004. What Industry Analysts are Saying about Broadcom's NetXtreme II John Webster, Senior Analyst, Data Mobility Group "Storage administrators are asking for better alignment of storage networks with applications and business policies. Combining both communications and management processing on a single controller allows OEM vendors to offer products that can be aligned with the specific requirements of customer application environments at very affordable price points." Tony Asaro, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Storage Group "The Broadcom C-NIC is an important step to the proliferation of IP and Ethernet as a major storage networking technology. Customers are looking for a universal infrastructure that is multi-functional and demands the convergence of all kinds of traffic leveraging to what is already in place today. It is not just about communications data, iSCSI packets, clustering servers, or the management of networked devices. It is about all of those things sharing the same infrastructure. That is what Broadcom brings to the table with C-NIC." Joseph Byrne, Principal Analyst, Gartner "Input/output is a bottleneck in server design. The I/O bottleneck needs to be addressed so that increased microprocessor performance will result in increased server performance. Simply increasing the number, or size, of the pipes is insufficient. Simply increasing I/O bandwidth will increase the burdens of protocol processing and memory transfers on the CPU and memory subsystem. What is needed, in addition to increased bandwidth, is an I/O design that alleviates these burdens." Sean Lavey, Semiconductor Program Manager, IDC "The ability to offload certain networking and IP storage processing tasks from a server's host CPU and onto an optimized chip will become an important development to follow in the future. If the hardware acceleration promise holds true, then faster Gigabit Ethernet networks deployed in the datacenter would enable support for a converged environment where both IP-based LAN and SAN traffic coexist." Sam Lucero, Industry Analyst, InStat/MDR "Many companies today are searching for converged networking solutions. Broadcom's C-NIC clearly addresses this need in a manner that will allow for widespread adoption of the technology."