:KLWH
3DSHU
1HWZRUN3URFHVVRU3URJUDPPLQJ0RGHOV
7KH.H\WR$FKLHYLQJ)DVWHU7LPHWR0DUNHW
DQG([WHQGLQJ3URGXFW/LIH
The design of the network equipment powering the Internet revolution has undergone profound
changes over the last decade. Today, with network equipment vendors racing to provide the
new converged voice/video/data communications infrastructure, designers require both speed
and flexibility to deliver within the highest time-to-market pressures the industry has ever seen.
Powerful new network processors are challenging traditional network device design methodolo-
gies by enabling software implementations of virtually all key communications functions at hard-
ware speeds. Key to this revolution is the programming models that enable designers to
implement the communications processing tasks on these processors. This paper explores
these models, and their effects on delivering on the promise of a new and better network
device design process.
,QGXVWU\,PSHUDWLYHV7LPHWR0DUNHW$QG7LPHLQ0DUNHW
Just as the Internet revolution is forever changing the face of public communication networks,
the way products that make up these networks are designed is also changing. Network equip-
ment developers have consistently faced a difficult trade-off: performance requirements
demand hardware implementations of data forwarding functions, while new features, such as
advanced Quality of Service (QoS), require flexibility that only software can deliver. Designers
have been forced to revisit the fundamental hardware/ software trade-off with each new
product (or even line card) they develop, sacrificing software reuse between product lines and
product generations along the way. The result has been longer time-to-market, higher develop-
ment costs, and shorter product lifetimes. Companies trying to compete in “internet time” can
no longer afford this type of product development.
The network processor, a new type of semiconductor device, is changing the dynamics of the
speed versus flexibility trade-off by enabling virtually all communications functions to be soft-
ware programmable without sacrificing “hardware” speeds. These processors eliminate the
high-risk, long development cycles of custom hardware by enabling advanced product features
to be delivered completely in software, even long after initial product introduction. This allows
network equipment vendors to concentrate precious development resources on delivering
advanced services to their customers, rather than just the latest “feeds and speeds”
The best network processors form the foundation of a “communications platform” that
contains the key elements required to radically transform the network device design process.
For example, Motorola’s Smart Networks Platform combines advanced network processor tech-
nology, “standard” programming interfaces, communications software components (from
C-Port and Motorola alliances) and a comprehensive development environment. This enables
network equipment vendors to quickly bring to market a wide array of different products based
on the same hardware and software architecture. The result is significantly faster time-to-
market for new products, and dramatically longer time-in-market (through the use of software
upgrades to deliver new, advanced services that extend the product life cycle). See Figure 1.
)LJXUH
ASICs versus Network Processors Product Life Cycles
Point
Product
World
(ASICs)
Open
Platform
World
(Network
Processors)
Point
Product
Development
Point
Product
Lifetime
Product
Develop.
Open Platform Product Lifetime
S/W
S/W
S/W
S/W
S/W
Time
Time
%\'DYLG+XVDN
&3RUW&IRXQGHUDQG
&KLHI7HFKQLFDO2IILFHU
DQG
5REHUW*RKQ
&3RUW9LFH3UHVLGHQW
0DUNHWLQJ
F
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
For More Information On This Product,
Go to: www.freescale.com
n
.