SCIENCE

Freescale Semiconductor introduces a comprehensive silicon and software solution for the rapid creation of multi-service business gateway (MSBG) equipment combining services such as data, security, voice and fax.

Based on the QorIQ P1020 processor, the solution integrates Freescale’s VortiQa Security Application Software and D2 Technologies’ industry-leading embedded vPort VoIP software, as well as virtualization support from Green Hills Software for the potential incorporation of additional services.

Enterprise branch offices and small and medium businesses (SMBs) are turning to managed services business models that allow them to rent a box and subscribe to managed services, versus the traditional, more expensive model that requires purchasing equipment. In addition to saving procurement costs, original design manufacturers (ODMs) also have the ability to shift expenses from capital to operational expenditures.  

Designed to help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) speed and simplify the development of MSBG equipment, the Freescale solution also works with the P1020 and other QorIQ products to serve as a reference design for a range of additional applications such as unified threat management (UTM) appliances, secured routers, IPS/IDS appliances, VPN routers and secured switches. This flexibility helps to extend R&D value and shorten time to market. Since the QorIQ family scales from single to many cores, the solution addresses a broad range of performance and energy efficiency requirements.

Freescale’s QorIQ processors deliver ultra-high performance to enable the flexibility and scalability to run a large number of services simultaneously. Products based on the MSBG solution can run security applications on one core while running office applications on a second core, giving service providers the flexibility to easily add or subtract office features.

“Freescale’s MSBG solution brings together the elements a small office needs to function – e-mail, fax, print, conference, WLAN and other capabilities – and then integrates those elements with traditional security and gateway functionality,” said Sathyan Iyengar, vice president of Software Products for the Freescale Networking and Multimedia Group. “Our suite of pre-integrated office services is optimized to take advantage of multicore technology. It helps hardware providers speed time to market and enables a more cost-effective and flexible business model.”

D2 Technologies’ embedded vPort software allows the solution to deliver the high voice quality, efficiently tuned system implementation and broad OS support necessary for manufacturers to incorporate state-of-the-art VoIP capabilities in their MSBG products. 

“The introduction of the joint Freescale-D2 MSBG solution to the market is timely, as an increasing number of small- to medium-size businesses are choosing to deploy a single, integrated device to replace legacy equipment,” said Doug Makishima, chief operating officer for D2 Technologies. “Additionally, market studies are showing a steady increase in the SMB market’s migration to VoIP technology. OEMs and ODMs looking for a rapid and cost-effective way to tap into these trends now have a solution based on multicore processors that shortens the development cycle for high-performance and economical offerings.”

Further enhancing the value of the MSBG platform, Green Hills Software’s INTEGRITY™ Secure Virtualization technology allows for seamless interaction of multiple business and office application services and capabilities running on heterogeneous operating systems. By eliminating the need to port existing applications to new operating systems, virtualization significantly reduces the software effort needed to consolidate disparate SMB capabilities onto one hardware system.
Freescale’s MSBG solution includes:

• The QorIQ P1020 processor, which provides cost and performance scalability to support different product SKUs and multiple users; the low-power operation of the QorIQ product also enables simplified, fanless thermal design for higher reliability and low system-cost end products
• VortiQa software with Stateful Packet Inspection Firewall and NAT
• VortiQa performance optimized IPsec Virtual Private Network (VPN) with Quality of Service (QoS) and Traffic Management
• D2 Technologies optimized voice features such as G.711, G.729AB, G.726 Voice Compression, G.168 Echo Cancellation, Packet Loss Compensation, Tone Detect/Generate and Jitter Buffer
• D2 Technologies advanced telephony features such as 3-Party Conferencing, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting/Caller ID, Call Return, and Speed Dial

Availability and pricing
The MSBG solution is expected to be available through Freescale ODM and software partners. The QorIQ P1020 solution is available for evaluation and initial development and is planned for ODM production in Q1 2011. Silicon and VortiQa software pricing can be obtained through local Freescale sales representatives. Pricing for the MSBG solution is available from Freescale ODM partners.