Intel Corp.’s XScale architecture will spawn fast, programmable network processors for devices all the way from the network core to the customer premise, Intel executives said Feb. 26 at the Intel Developer’s Forum in San Francisco.
Four XScale processors for networking were announced during keynote addresses by Sean Maloney, executive vice-president and general manager of the Intel Communication Group, and Thomas Franz, vice-president and general manager of Intel’s Access and Switching Group. They included chips for high-speed core routers and switches, multiservice switches at the network edge, homes and small offices and enterprise storage systems.
Using the same architecture across the whole network processor line means companies that build equipment using those chips can easily beef up those systems when demand arises for higher speed and more services, Maloney said.
Intel’s overall strategy in communications is now focused on what Maloney called “post-recessionary technologies” – advancements that will bring network administrators back into the market after a purchasing dry spell.
“For the last nine months, people have been pushing out purchases,” Maloney said. He gave four reasons they should start shopping again:
