Cypress QDRII SRAM support for Netronome's NFP-32xx network flow processor

SAN JOSE, USA: Cypress Semiconductor Corp. has announced its 65nm 72-Mbit QDRII SRAMs support the new NFP-32xx family of Network Flow Processors from Netronome Systems, a leading developer of highly programmable semiconductor products that provide intelligent and secure flow processing for virtualized servers and network equipment.

The low latency and high memory transaction rate of Cypress’s 65nm devices enable algorithm-based network flow processing using the NFP-32xx. The combination provides an efficient platform to enable the convergence of servers and networking in next generation unified computing architectures.

The NFP-32xx is the first merchant silicon to remove performance barriers in unified computing architectures by integrating high-performance networking, security processing and I/O virtualization with general-purpose computing.

Cypress QDRII SRAMs interface with the existing Intel IXP28XX network processor. The NFP-32xx is the only line of processors backward-compatible with the market-leading IXP28XX, creating a smooth transition for continued support.

Additionally, backward-compatibility with the IXP28XX protects customers’ immense investment in field-proven and network-hardened software. The 65nm SRAMs also allow the NFP-32xx to fully utilize the LA-1 interface for latency critical applications in switches, routers, wireless infrastructure and more.

Cypress’s QDR SRAMs are the industry’s first 65-nm devices to ship in volume. The 72-Mbit SRAMs feature the market’s fastest available clock speed of 550MHz and a total data rate of 80Gbps in a 36-bit I/O width QDRII device, using half the power of 90nm SRAMs.

They are ideal for networking applications, including Internet core and edge routers, fixed and modular Ethernet switches, 3G base stations and secure routers, and also enhance the performance of medical imaging and military signal processing systems. The devices are pin compatible with 90-nm SRAMs, enabling networking customers to increase performance and port density while maintaining the same board layout.

“Cypress is currently supporting Netronome with technical support and simulation models, and we are committed to providing long-term product support,” said Bruce Barbara, marketing director for synchronous memory products at Cypress. “The combination of the NFP-32xx processor and our 65-nm QDRII SRAMs is ideal for latency-critical applications.”

“We are delighted that Cypress’s QDRII SRAMs will provide support for Netronome’s NFP to allow technology interoperability between the two solutions,” said Mike Benson, senior vice president of Platform Engineering at Netronome. “With this collaboration, Netronome and its partners, like Cypress, can provide confidence to shared customers so that they can build quality products with both devices working productively together.”

Compared with their 90nm predecessors, Cypress’s 65nm QDR SRAMs lower input and output capacitance by 60 percent. Cypress’s QDRII and DDRII devices have On-Die Termination (ODT), which improves signal integrity, reduces system cost and saves board space by eliminating external termination resistors.

The 65nm devices use a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) instead of a Delay Locked Loop (DLL), which enables a 35 percent wider data valid window to reduce development time and cost for the customer.