Do Your Homework – The “Four Ps”
Selecting packet processing technology for next generation line cards can be a complicated decision with many variables at play. In an article in the latest issue of EECatalog, I’m suggesting a guideline based on ‘four Ps’:
- Programmability. What level of flexibility is required?
- Processing. How many operations and table look-ups per packet? Is wirespeed performance critical?
- Power. What’s the power budget? Can the device bring the right performance per watt?
- Price. Level of integration (embedded memories, traffic management, etc.) has a huge impact on the bill-of-material, which ultimately defines the manufacturing cost and the margin for the target system.
Once coined by Jerome McCarthy and later made famous by Philip Kotler, the right marketing mix for a company can be modelled by another group of Ps: product, price, promotion and place. Kotler later added a couple of other Ps. Is there anything missing in the ‘four P’ model for packet processing decision making?
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