Breakthrough Communications Processor Complements Broad Multi-Core Family.

Date: 9/9/2010

- NetLogic Microsystems’multi-core processor architecture enables performance, scalability and innovation in next generation networking applications.   

NetLogic Microsystems’ established XLR® and XLS® high-performance multi-core processors have become the preferred choice in a variety of applications that require high throughput and heavy computation within a limited power budget. The market-leading XLR and XLS multi-core processors have been designed into advanced LTE eNodeB/base stations, gateways, RNCs, switches, routers, security appliances, network storage appliances and wireline access equipment. These families are based on NetLogic Microsystems’ quad-threaded architecture, where each processor core features four ‘threads’ (or  NXCPUs™), providing scalability up to 32 NXCPUs. The MIPS64-based CPUs, running at up to 1.5 Ghz ensure excellent data- and control-plane performance and efficiency.  Multiple accelerators and high-speed networking interfaces are embedded in the processor to deliver the highest performance, while an advanced lockless Network-on-Chip connects all the parts of the processor, providing very low latency and low over-head in high-throughput IP packet processing applications.

Now, and marking its appointment as pan-European sales and marketing representative for NetLogic Microsystems, Ismosys is able to release details of the NetLogic Microsystems’ latest multi-core communications processor solution:

The XLP8128S multi-core processor solution
Complementing the current XLR and XLS high-performance families, the XLP8128S is the highest performance solution in NetLogic Microsystems’ new breakthrough XLP™ family of multi-core processors. The device offers unparalleled processing performance and scalability: Operating at up to 2.0 GHz each core is based on a quad-issue (four instructions per clock cycle), quad-threaded, advanced superscalar engine with strong out-of-order execution capabilities. The 128 NXCPUs™ offer full cache and memory coherency over NetLogic Microsystems’ proprietary high-speed Inter-chip Coherency Interface™ (ICI), which provides seamless chip-to-chip cache and memory coherency with full software transparency enabling software applications to run seamlessly in Symmetric Multi Processing (SMP) or Asymmetric Multi Processing (AMP) modes. The unique combination of superior processor cores and scalability from 1 to 128 NXCPUs deliver over 240 Mpps of intelligent application processing performance, firmly establishing the XLP8128S as the industry's highest performance multi-core communication processor.

The XLP8128S also features NetLogic Microsystems’ high-speed, low-latency Enhanced Fast Messaging Network™ to enable efficient, high-bandwidth communication among the 128 NXCPUs and to support billions of in-flight messages and packet descriptors between all on-chip elements. To complement the 128 NXCPUs, the XLP8128S offers over 160 fully-autonomous processing engines that complete offload certain network functions from the NXCPUs, including:

• 160 Gbps fully-autonomous Security Acceleration Engine supporting networking, wireless and storage encryption/decryption/authentication protocols
• 160 Gbps Network Acceleration Engines for Ingress/Egress Packet Parsing and Management
• 512 Gbps RAID-5/RAID-6 Acceleration
• 40 Gbps Compression/Decompression
• Packet Ordering
• Storage De-Duplication Acceleration
• TCP Segmentation Offload
• IEEE 1588 Hardware Time Stamping

The tri-level cache architecture, with over 50 Mbytes of fully coherent on-chip cache, delivers 40 Terabits/sec of extremely high-speed on-chip memory bandwidth. It  incorporates 16 channels of 72-bit DDR3 interconnects yielding an aggregate of over 1600 Gbps of off-chip memory bandwidth, which is 4x the DRAM bandwidth of recently announced competitive solutions. The combination of the 128 NXCPUs with quad-issue and a superior memory sub-system architecture makes the device ideally suited for both data-plane applications that are inherently sensitive to memory latencies as well as control-plane applications that require best-in-class processing performance.

In addition to NetLogic Microsystems' high-bandwidth Inter-chip Coherency Interface (ICI) the XLP8128S multi-core processor solution also integrates a wide range of high-speed networking interfaces, including Interlaken, XAUI, SGMII, PCI-Express®, USB2.0 and is supported by a comprehensive software development kit (SDK) that will contain reference and production-ready software components, which enables customers to accelerate time-to-market.

According to Ismosys MD Nigel Watts, NetLogic Microsystems is at the forefront of technology innovation in multi-core processing: "NetLogic Microsystems’ ability to scale to 128 NXCPUs with full cache and memory coherency is unprecedented in the industry” Watts said. "Customers can immediately take advantage of the mature environment and ecosystem of XLR or XLS processors yet make the easy transition to XLP processors as they become progressively available in the coming months”.

“For applications requiring faster L2-L4  or L4-L7 packet processing acceleration, and billions of decisions per second, customers are able to leverage NetLogic Microsystems’ world-leading knowledge-based-processors (advanced co-processors for Layers 2-4 packet header inspection), and its NETL7™ content processors (Regex engines for Layers 4-7 packet payload/content inspection), which interface seamlessly with the company’s multi-core processors”, continued Watts. “These devices, together with NetLogic Microsystems’ 10G, 40G and 100G PHY components, firmly position the company as the preferred one-stop-shop for packet-based applications.”

NetLogic Microsystems, the NetLogic Microsystems logo, XLR, XLRS, XLP, NXCPU, Inter-chip Coherency Interface, Enhanced Fast Messaging Network and NETL7 are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NetLogic Microsystems, Inc.  All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.