LSI expands custom IP portfolio for enterprise networking and storage apps

MILPITAS, USA: LSI Corp. announced the addition of the multicore-capable PowerPC 476 microprocessor core and high-speed, embedded DRAM memory blocks to its industry-leading portfolio of custom silicon intellectual property (IP).

The new processor core and memory blocks are designed to accelerate the development of leading-edge networking and storage SoCs used in high-performance applications such as enterprise-class switches, routers, RAID storage, servers and base stations.

Custom multicore integrated circuits allow OEMs to develop highly differentiated, high-performance solutions for compute-intensive applications. The new PowerPC 476FP offering from LSI, available on the TSMC 40G process, operates at clock speeds in excess of 1.4 GHz, delivering 2.5 Dhrystone MIPS per MHz. The new embedded DRAM block operates at up to 500 MHz, which is essential for real-time video processing and high-bandwidth networking applications.

"Next-generation networking and storage infrastructures need highly integrated SoCs to meet ever-increasing market demands," said Sudhakar Sabada, senior vice president and general manager, Custom Silicon Division, LSI. "With a rich portfolio of silicon-proven IP and a robust design flow, LSI helps customers predictably build application-optimized SoCs that allow them to differentiate in the marketplace."

LSI minimizes custom IC development cost and risk by providing OEMs with a broad, field-proven IP portfolio that includes general- and special-purpose processors, protocol cores, a gigabit Ethernet PHY, high-speed serializer-deserializers (SerDes) and embedded memory.

All embedded LSI processors are supported by an industry ecosystem of software that includes development tools and operating systems. The 500 MHz embedded DRAM core, licensed from TSMC, is the third generation of eDRAM IP available from LSI. It joins an extensive lineup of embedded DRAM IP blocks available from LSI for custom IC development.

The PPC476 and embedded DRAM design kits are available now for integration into 40nm custom silicon solutions.