Unified computing architectures place extensive security requirements on the network. Ranging from coarse policy enforcement using IEEE 802.1AE LinkSec to granular and stateful flow-based applications such as IPsec and SSL, security processing is now required for the majority of network traffic. The NFP provides 20Gbps of line rate security processing by embedding hardware acceleration in a programmable dataplane, including:

• Cryptography engines with support for RC4, 3DES, AES, SHA-1, and the SHA-2 family of algorithms
• PKI engines to accelerate modular exponentiation with up to 2048-bit keys
• 3.5 billion 64-bit hashes per second for security, regular expression and deduplication applications
• Dedicated hardware for true random number generation
• Support for in-line and look-aside security processing designs

These features increase network performance, decrease latency and free CPU cycles for added application processing. Further, their integration removes the need for specialized security processors, decreasing system cost, complexity and power consumption.

In addition to accelerators for security and content processing, the NFP-32xx offers integrated hardware features that make it ideally suited for parallel programming, including CAM instructions for determining inter-thread dependencies, 44Gbps of next-neighbor interconnects for high performance pipelines, 3Tbps of switched internal data bus bandwidth, ECC on all memory busses, local timers and CRC engines, atomic memory engines and a queue manager for traffic management.

Expansive Ecosystem and Proven Tools

Netronome’s NFPs are supported by a large ecosystem including leading operating system vendors, complementary silicon, protocol software stacks, system design services and other tools vendors. Additionally, they are available with a comprehensive set of development tools offering unmatched ease of use to support the customer’s design process. Derived from the Intel Developer Workbench (IXA SDK 4.3), the Netronome Programmer Studio™ is backward-compatible with customer software from existing designs, protecting their significant investment. The Programmer Studio provides existing IXP users a familiar environment, while new users of the NFP benefit from the robustness of a tool that has been tested and proven through several generations of product development. The Programmer Studio reduces development time with a C compiler for high-level programming, a cycle‐ and data‐accurate simulator, as well as packet and traffic generation tools. The Netronome tool suite also includes sample and production-ready software, a customer reference platform for silicon evaluation, and PCIe cards to support software development.

"We are impressed with the NFP and are excited about the new capabilities and performance offered," said Dave Arnold, vice president of engineering at Stoke. "These new capabilities, coupled with backward compatibility to our existing IXP designs, offer a safe migration path and contribute to Stoke's continued industry leading performance."

“Netronome is pleased to announce the NFP as a testament to the shared vision we have with our customers that every packet will be intelligently and securely processed,” said Niel Viljoen, founder and CEO of Netronome. “Customers migrating from existing IXP28XX designs, and those building new heterogeneous designs based on the NFP coupled with multicore CPUs are now able to realize that vision.”

Pricing and Availability

The NFP is available in a range of price and performance options spanning from 16 to 40 cores operating at 1.0 or 1.4GHz with optional cryptography support. With prices starting at $275, the NFP-32xx family of network flow processors are available for sample orders today, with general availability in Q3 2009.

About Netronome Systems

Netronome is a leading developer of highly programmable semiconductor products that are used for intelligent flow processing in network and communications devices. Netronome’s solutions include network flow processors and acceleration cards that scale to more than 20Gbps. They are used in carrier-grade and enterprise-class communications products that require deep packet inspection, flow analysis, content processing, virtualization and security. Netronome is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, with core operations in San Jose, CA and Boxborough, MA, and international locations in the United Kingdom, China and South Africa. To learn more about Netronome and its products, please visit www.netronome.com.

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