Security appliance solutions based on Freescale processors take scalability, performance and energy efficiency to new levels

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Manufacturers of security appliance equipment will soon have a highly scalable suite of turnkey solutions from Freescale Semiconductor, thanks to strong market acceptance from top ODMs, board manufacturers and independent software vendors.

Leading companies including Advantech, BitDefender, Curtiss-Wright Controls, O2 Security, Portwell and Silicon Turnkey, have adopted Freescale multicore processors to establish one of the broadest portfolios of security appliance solutions in the market – with performance scaling from 4 Gbps up to 20 Gbps.

The solutions are designed to help OEMs quickly and cost effectively create a range of security applications including unified threat management (UTM) appliances, secured routers, IPS/IDS appliances, VPN routers, secured switches and business gateways. Designed to deliver outstanding performance-to-price ratios and dramatically shorten development cycles, the solutions tightly integrate optimized low-level software and production-ready boards with Freescale’s VortiQa application software and multicore PowerQUICC and QorIQ processors.

According to analyst Jeff Wilson of analyst firm Infonetics, the security appliance market is valued at $4.3 billion per year and expected to grow to $5.5 billion by 2013.

“These offerings deliver substantial value to our customers and demonstrate Freescale’s intent to apply our technology, software, ecosystem and networking leadership to provide segment-specific solutions,” said Sathyan Iyengar, vice president of Software Products for the Freescale Networking and Multimedia Group.

“The solutions offer compelling options for the network security marketplace and underscore the advantages of VortiQa application software, which is specifically designed and optimized for our highly advanced QorIQ and PowerQUICC processors.”

The suite of security appliance solutions based on Freescale silicon includes:
* The Advantech NCP-7560 4U eight-way network processor platform based on Freescale’s QorIQ P4080 eight-core processor for high-end enterprise or service provider systems.
* BitDefender antivirus technology with Freescale VortiQa software on QorIQ platforms for comprehensive security solutions.
* The Curtiss-Wright VPX6-187 single board computer based on Freescale’s QorIQ P4080 eight-core processor and related devices for embedded, aerospace and military security applications.
* The O2 Security SifoWorks 8572 1U Network Security Appliance based on Freescale’s MPC8572 PowerQUICC III dual-core processor for mid-enterprise IPS based deployments.
* The O2 Security SifoWorks 8540 1U Network Security Appliance based on Freescale’s MPC8540 single-core host processor for small- to mid-size enterprises.
* The Portwell CAK-2000 1U UTM security appliance, based on Freescale’s QorIQ P2020 dual-core processor for mid-enterprise, low-power systems.
* The Portwell CAK-2000 1U UTM security appliance, based on Freescale’s QorIQ P2010 single-core processor for high-performance, low-power small enterprise value systems.
* The Silicon Turnkey GP3SSA Network Security Board with the MPC8541 PowerQUICC III and MPC8555 PowerQUICC III single-core host processors for network security applications.

The suite of security appliance solutions is expected to be available through Freescale ODM and software partners. The solutions based on the PowerQUICC III MPC8572 and MPC8540 processors are available now. The QorIQ P2010 and P2020 solutions are available for evaluation and initial development and are planned for ODM production mid-year. Pricing on the silicon and VortiQa software can be obtained through local Freescale sales representatives, and pricing on the suite of security appliances is available from respective ODM partners.