Broadcom Introduces World's First 28nm Heterogeneous Knowledge-Based Processors

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

News Highlights:

• First 28nm heterogeneous knowledge-based processor delivers up to 24x greater performance¹
• Integrated NetRoute^TM technology enables support for IPv6 with lowest power profile
• Deterministic high-performance,  independent of database complexity

Broadcom Corporation BRCM, a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced it has started sampling the NLA12000 Series, the industry's first heterogeneous KBPs manufactured in 28 nanometer (nm). Designed to meet the scalability and efficiency demands of 3G/4G mobile infrastructure, data center and enterprise environments, Broadcom's new knowledge-based processors deliver up to 24x greater performance than competing solutions in the most demanding applications. Visit www.broadcom.com to learn more.

Continued exponential growth in hosted services, coupled with emerging trends such as Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Open Flow, is driving the demand for increased classification, forwarding and security processing throughout the network. In addition, the industry's migration from IPv4 to IPv6 to accommodate the growing number of connected mobile devices is resulting in 4x larger knowledge databases for Layers 2-4 processing. Combined, these factors require knowledge-based processors with significantly higher performance, larger knowledge databases and lower power profiles.

Broadcom's NLA12000 Series KBPs are ideally suited to address these stringent next-generation network requirements and are optimized for deployment in routers, switches, service gateways, security appliances and mobile infrastructure equipment. The NLA12000 Series KBPs are the industry's first to integrate an eighth generation massively parallel knowledge-based processing technology with innovative low-power NetRoute algorithmic search technology in a heterogeneous manner, delivering the highest deterministic performance and low latency independent of database or signature complexity, with support for up to 2 million IPv6 routes.²

In addition to delivering the highest performance, the combination of Broadcom's innovative NetRoute technology with the advanced 28nm process node enables the NLA12000 Series KBPs to achieve the industry's lowest power footprint for IPv4 and IPv6 searches.

Market Drivers

• Increase in services provided by carriers impacting amount of processing (searches) per packet
• Increased demand for more complex processing including application recognition
• Transition to IPv6 driving the growth in size of forwarding and access control list tables³
• Emergence of OpenFlow standards and Software Defined Networking (SDN)

Key Features

• Concurrently delivers up to 24x higher performance, 2.4x knowledge database capacity per device⁴
• 2.4 billion decisions per second (BDPS) to address growing line rates for IPv4 and IPv6 packets
• High-speed serial links for enhanced communication from KBP to system packet processors
  • Includes 12.5 Gbps SerDes for 300 Gbps aggregate bandwidth
• Dual-port mode for off-the shelf network processors, FPGAs and customer ASICs
• Improved search flexibility with Context Buffers and Key Processing Unit (KPU)
• Range Encoding Engine (REE) delivers efficient database compaction for access control lists
• Support for on-chip associated data for search tables to enable lowest system latency

Availability
Broadcom's 28nm heterogeneous KBPs are currently sampling with production volumes slated for 1H 2013.

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Jag Bolaria, Senior Analyst, The Linley Group
"Concurrently achieving high performance and deterministic low latency irrespective of the search database size or complexity is the differentiator for Broadcom's new heterogeneous KBPs. Combining NetRoute technology with its massively parallel hardware enables Broadcom's KBPs to attain a low power profile for next-generation IPv6 processing."

Ron Jankov, Broadcom's Senior Vice President & GM, Processors & Wireless Infrastructure
"Broadcom continues its leadership at the 28nm node with the industry's first heterogeneous knowledge-based processors optimized for IPv6. Our breakthrough heterogeneous architecture, built on the foundation of more than 15 years of innovation in knowledge-based processing, delivers significant performance upgrades for increasingly complex knowledge databases while minimizing the power profile for advanced routers, switches, mobile infrastructure equipment and security appliances."

Resources:
1 Up to 24x greater performance than competing solutions.
2 Supports up to 2 million IPv6 routes at deterministic performance and deterministic latency of 2.4 billion searches per second.
3 CNet, May 2012: 2.3 billion Internet users worldwide last year, with China and the U.S. topping the list with 513 million users     and 245 million users, respectively. Yet, only about a third of the world's population has access to the Internet.
4 2.4x greater capacity for linear performance;  9.6x larger database capacity with cascading devices than competing solutions.

About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation BRCM, a FORTUNE 500^® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom^® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments. With the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and embedded software solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by Connecting everything^®. For more information, go to www.broadcom.com.

Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything^®, the Connecting everything logo and NetRoute are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU.  Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Contacts

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Infrastructure & Networking