TABLE OF CONTENTS In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.
William Blake
The Intel IXP2XXX Product Line represents the second generation of Intel network processors. The IXP2XXX Product Line includes the following: Intel IXP2350, Intel IXP2400, Intel IXP2800, and Intel IXP2850 network processors. It is designed to meet the specialized requirements of networking equipment in the enterprise, access, edge, and core market segments at data rates ranging from OC-3 to OC-192. This chapter presents an overview of the processor architecture. It addresses the following questions:
What are the different processors within the IXP2XXX Product Line? Which market segments and data rates do they target?
What are the functional units typically found in IXP2XXX network processors?
What are the features supported by the packet-processing acceleration engines or microengines on IXP2XXX network processors? How is the design for these microengines optimized for the task of handling packets?
What is the memory hierarchy?
What is the interface to external media devices?
What are the optimizations and hardware acceleration units available for communication, synchronization, and system management?
What are the features supported by the integrated Intel XScale technology-based processors?
A key advantage of the IXP2XXX Product Line is its support for a family of processors targeted at different market segments and data rates.
At the mid- and low-end, the IXP23XX network processors provide a highly integrated, low-cost, and low-power solution for the CPE...
