TABLE OF CONTENTS Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand.
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The Intel IXP4XX product line offers a range of different processors, each with their own characteristics and features. This chapter provides you with a comparative view of each.
By understanding the processor's architecture and available features, you can choose the right processor for your project and make optimal use of the processor's performance and features.
The block diagram of an IXP4XX network processor in Figure 2.1 shows a superset of all of the functionality and features of processors in the IXP4XX product line. All of these processors have an Intel XScale core general-purpose CPU and one or more network processing engines (NPE).
Starting from the top left of Figure 2.1, these are the main features of the processor:
Network Processing Engine A. The NPE A contains UTOPIA interfaces and coprocessors to accelerate ATM applications. It contains high-speed-serial (HSS) interfaces for T1/E1, pulse code modulation (PCM), and multi-vendor integration protocol (MVIP) applications. It also contains a high-level data link control (HDLC) co-processor. On some members of the processor family NPE A also contains an Ethernet co-processor and media access control (MAC) functionality.
Network Processing Engine B. The NPE B contains Ethernet co-processors. On some members of the product line, it contains four MACs and a...
