INDUSTRY

IDT (Integrated Device Technology, Inc.), a leading communications IC company and the leading provider of network search engines (NSEs), today extended its technology leadership by unveiling details of a fourth-generation NSE architecture designed to accelerate Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) and enable value-added services in 10-gigabit per second (Gbps) applications. Initial products based on this fourth-generation architecture will enable search performance of up to one billion searches per second (BSPS), four times the capability of previous solutions. The new architecture supports a wider interface, making it the first NSE architecture truly optimized for creating future products that efficiently support IPv6. IDT has also implemented an error correction code (ECC) feature never before implemented in an NSE that addresses potential soft errors, ensuring data integrity and compliance with stringent service level agreements (SLAs). "With IPv6 on the horizon, new services such as VoIP, and the proliferation of CPE devices, access control lists become more complex, making the classification function more important than ever," said Allan Armstrong, director of communications semiconductors at analyst firm RHK, Inc. "NSEs are an excellent tool for enterprise switch and carrier router developers creating highly differentiated boxes, as they accelerate a key function without compromising a system vendor's intellectual property." "Solidifying our position as the NSE technology leader, we have leveraged our design expertise to deliver the feature-rich architecture, optimized to accelerate packet processing and enable revenue-generating services," said Scott Sarnikowski, vice president and co-general manager of the IDT IP co-processor division. "NSEs are an essential component to enabling today's network processing subsystems, and products based on our fourth-generation architecture will truly accelerate this next-generation service traffic." The newest IDT architecture offers several innovative features that make it an ideal solution for 10-Gbps applications. The ECC feature, the first of its kind in an NSE architecture, improves data integrity and addresses soft errors, which are caused when neutrons in the earth's atmosphere collide with electronics systems. These soft errors can cause a system to malfunction or act unpredictably, which is unacceptable in high-reliability networking equipment. By automatically checking and correcting impacted code before it can affect functionality, devices based on this architecture will help to maintain consistent system operation. The quad simultaneous multi-database lookup (SMDL) feature enables industry-leading performance of up to one BSPS by supporting four simultaneous lookups in one cycle with an unprecedented core search rate of 250 million searches per second (MSPS). The new architecture also leads the industry in supporting an 80-bit base search width that efficiently supports IPv6 by offering a 320-bit search width to accommodate a 296-bit wide IPv6 5-tuple look-up, thereby optimizing the database size for those operations. Availability The first NSE products based on the fourth-generation IDT architecture will be available in 1HCY05. Initial products are expected to include a high-speed transceiver logic (HSTL) interface to ASICs and FPGAs. Additional information on IDT NSE products and technology can be accessed at http://www.idt.com/products/nse.html.