Xelerated Xpress

When There Is a Special Purpose

Network processors are very flexible. They can be programmed for any type of data plane services. Every customer project is unique; all organizations want to compete with features and functionality as they continue to come up with new, innovative ways to make the most out of NPU silicon.

Still, there are limitations to what network processors can do. They are developed for a special-purpose; to process packets very efficiently. What they do, they do very well. But if you want to accomplish anything other than process packets, you will need another type of processor. General-purpose multicore processors would be the choice. But can’t they be used for packet processing as well?

For a deep-dive to this subject, I recommend reading Håkan Zeffer’s and my recent article in Electronic Design. We compare the differences between the special-purpose dataflow architecture, which is found in all Xelerated NPUs, and general-purpose multicore architectures that are popular in today’s server architectures. Both have their merits, and a comparison should be made for the target application. When looking to the architectures, you can start to calculate how efficient the different approaches are for different types of applications. I hope you find the conclusions interesting.

by Per Lembre on May. 28th, 2010

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The Need for Speed

The market for 10G and faster network ports is at a tremendous growth pace right now. According to the latest Infonetics Report, the uptake in 10G, 40G and 100G is expected to tenfold by 2014.

And interestingly enough it is not a tenfold from very low levels, which tends to be the case when we see booming markets numbers being touted. No, the 10G and above market in the enterprise and service provider segments was already in 2009 north of $10 billion ($11.1 to be exact according to the report).

So what drives this insatiable demand for bandwidth?

For the Service Provider segment it is clear that the growth stems from the build-outs of new Fiber Access networks. They are architected for service delivery over Ethernet, and generate traffic in high volumes that is aggregated by switches and routers. In turn, they need interface speeds that are several magnitudes higher than the access side of the network. Already in this early phase of the market, the interest for Gigabit access is real, and growing through for instance the Googles initiative “Fiber for Communities”. Also new products are arriving to meet the new demands. The recently announced high-density gigabit access switch developed jointly by Accton and Xelerated, is perfectly aimed to this market.

The 10G growth is not limited to the service provider segment. Also enterprises are inevitably migrating to 10G interface connectivity. End-users consume more bandwidth, and require that data centers scale in parity with that growth.

Some philosopher said “the best way to predict the future is to create it”.  At Xelerated we make the fastest and most flexible chips for this new market. We are part of the creation. But does this mean we know where future networking will be in 20 years? Sure – let me just take out my crystal ball from the drawer…

by Anders Wirkestrand on May. 12th, 2010

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The Bright Future of Telecoms At the World Expo

Everything at the World Expo in Shanghai is huge. Over the next six months, some 70 million people are expected to visit the show.  In preparation, the city has added 150 metro stations. (Yes, this is more than the complete metro system in Stockholm!) The show includes more pavilions than ever, and despite economic downtimes, countries are investing more than ever before in the World Expo. And there are good reasons. The pace of development in China is amazing, and every nation wants to understand and engage with the superpower.  China is shining.

At the Expo, the international pavilions compete for attention from the crowd. For example, the U.K. pavilion looks like a hedgehog. And the Danes made a brilliant move when they decided to transport the little Sea-Maid over to the Expo.  The Swedish pavilion has a bar on the top of its yellow painted roof.

Still, what attracts my attention the most are the Chinese pavilions. Yes, there are more than one. China Mobile and China Telecom have sponsored one pavilion in particular about the future of Telecoms, while one of the world’s largest ship manufacturers, CSSC, has another pavilion which looks like a complete power generation site.  And yet another pavilion is dedicated to Chinese Private Enterprises. Anyone in doubt of China’s commitment to entrepreneurship should pay a visit to this pavilion. Although we, who are already convinced, should go there anyway to enjoy the world-class piece of art that concludes the tour.

But of these Chinese pavilions, what catches my eye the most is the story told over at the Information and Communication Pavilion – about the bright future enabled by telecommunications.  At this pavilion, visitors are asked to make their wishes for the future by typing them onto a PSP-like device. We then enter the first of two circular cinemas, the first dedicated to the history of telecommunications, and the latter to the future. Glossy cartoon characters, JiLing and GuDu, guide us through the bright history of telecommunications, and to the even brighter future. All wishes which will one day become true. You can teleport yourself into the future, and back to history, have your favorite basketball player to teach you how to score, have the impressionist icon Vincent Van Gogh to teach you how to paint.

The conclusion isn’t hard to capture, despite technical translation issues. The future is bright. For Telecoms. And for China.

by Per Lembre on May. 6th, 2010

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Booming Carrier Ethernet Market

Projected spending in Carrier Ethernet equipment. Source: Infonetics Research.

Michael Howard’s latest research on the Carrier Ethernet market is yet another proof point that service providers continue to migrate their networks to Carrier Ethernet. According to the latest Infonetics Research report investments in Carrier Ethernet gear are expected to go from US$21.6 billion in 2009 to over US$32 billion in 2014.

As previously noted here at Xelerated Xpress, the market for Carrier Ethernet gear continues to outpace investments in other technologies. We may debate over the exact numbers – future projections always need to be considered with a pinch of salt – but the trend is unquestionable; service provider networks are turning Ethernet.

by Per Lembre on May. 6th, 2010

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