EZchip discloses product roadmap for high-speed and access network processors

YOKNEAM, ISRAEL: EZchip Semiconductor Ltd, a leader in Ethernet network processors, has disclosed the roadmap for the NP high-speed and the NPA access network processors product families.

Within the high-speed category, unveiled is the NP-5, a 200-Gigabit network processor with integrated 200-Gigabit traffic management for ultra-dense 10GE, 40GE and 100GE port line cards in switches and routers. This unveiling follows the successful sampling earlier this year of EZchip’s NP-4 100-Gigabit and NP-4L 50-Gigabit processors that are quickly becoming the preferred solutions for Carrier Ethernet equipment.

Within the access category, two devices are revealed that augment EZchip’s NPA family, the NPA-4 providing the highest performance and the NPA-0 providing the lowest cost. These two new products will complement the NPA-1, NPA-2 and NPA-3 that sampled last year and will round out EZchip’s NPA family to be the most versatile and complete network processor (NPU) offering for Ethernet access equipment.

“In a recent survey taken by Heavy Reading (a publication of Light Reading Inc.), EZchip’s NPUs are ranked by networking equipment vendors as the clear network processor leaders. With our fifth generation of NPUs, we are extending our offering to span solutions that range from 1-Gbps all the way up to 200Gbps. We are underlining for our customers our continued long term commitment to the NPU market and further solidifying our market leadership,” said Eli Fruchter, President and CEO of EZchip Semiconductor.

“Through technological innovations and optimized architecture EZchip is able to advance its NPUs’ throughput and functionality time and time again. These efforts have yielded for our customers the best available packet processing solutions. In our new NPUs we will integrate a host CPU and continue in extending per-port functionality at lower power and cost, while maintaining software compatibility that enables our customers to maintain and carry forward their prior investments,” said Guy Koren, CTO of EZchip Semiconductor.

The NP-5 is a 200-Gigabit network processor with integrated 200-Gigabit traffic manager that will provide unprecedented integration and enable building routers and switches for Carrier Ethernet networks as well as data centers with exceptional density and functionality. The NP-5 will enable building line cards that feature multiple 40 and 100-Gigabit ports as well as dozens of 10-Gigabit ports. Through its versatility and rich feature set NP-5 will serve a wide variety of carrier and data center applications.

The NPA-4 and NPA-0 are 24-Gigabit and 5-Gigabit network processors respectively. Both devices are a complete System-on-Chip (SoC) that integrate all the main functions of an access node. Offering high performance, low power, extended functionality and attractive price points, these NPUs will enable building a new class of Carrier Ethernet access nodes for PON, microwave backhaul, base stations, VDSL and Ethernet access, which deliver more throughput, higher functionality at lower power and cost.

All these new NPUs from EZchip integrate into a single chip the main components of a line card including programmable packet processing, traffic management, Ethernet MACs, PHYs, control CPU and Fabric Interface Controller. They are based on the same underlying technology and are code compatible to current NPUs from EZchip. All of EZchip’s NPUs are augmented with a library of production-level applications that includes data-plane code for Metro Ethernet, MPLS, GPON/EPON OLT, OAM and IEEE1588v2 clock synchronization, for enabling reduced development resources and expedited time to market.