Integrated Multi-core Software Solution for Network Acceleration

Wind River Network Acceleration Platform delivers Gigabit Ethernet wire-speed performance for network infrastructure equipment using multi-core technologies. The platform is a comprehensive, fully integrated multi-core run-time environment with control plane operating system support and data plane acceleration software. Specifically, it provides a way to leverage multi-core architectures to accelerate the performance of the standard Linux networking stack. Its uniquely integrated asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP) configuration provides a Linux management operating system working in combination with a small executive running on dedicated cores to provide protocol acceleration. This integrated approach allows the system to act as a single networking stack support to all of the IP protocols of Linux while accelerating key protocols and functionality to boost overall system performance.

The platform includes Wind River Linux, a fast real-time bare metal executive and high-performance networking software. The platform also includes a lightweight hypervisor to load and configure individual cores and to provide memory protection. The networking-specific software stack includes IPv4/IPv6, IPsec, UDP, TCP, and STCP packet acceleration protocols optimized for specific multi-core processors.

Wind River Network Acceleration Platform

Breakthrough Performance and Competitive Differentiation
High-performance platform software from which to build more competitive products

• 11.5 Mpps/core forwarding performance
• Five to 10 times the packet processing performance of a standard Linux stack

Time-to-Market Advantage
Comprehensive, integrated software platform, from one vendor, optimized to maximize the performance capabilities of the leading multi-core processors

• Control plane management operating system and inter-core communication software to coordinate with the data plane
• Data plane acceleration engines and networking technologies
• Lightweight hypervisor

Reduced Risk
Integrated development tools environment with comprehensive prototyping, simulation, debugging, system analysis, and test capabilities

• Backed by the industry leader of embedded multi-core software—one vendor, one point of contact
• Global customer support
• Migration and optimization design services a phone call away
• Isolation between GPL Linux and your customizations

Cost Reduction
Consolidation of control plane and data plane applications into one system

• Multi-core architecture supporting processors with two to 32 cores
• Multiple control and data plane applications consolidated into one system
• Development efficiencies achieved through integrated platform approach; spend valuable development cycles on differentiators, not networking and system technologies

Networking equipment performs only as well as its worst bottleneck or the spot in the system where packet processing is limited. Multi-core silicon has greatly improved the efficiency of moving packets in and out of the Ethernet, but that represents only the first in a series of potential chokepoints that could limit throughput. Once the frame is in system buffers it must get to the right processing core, pass through multiple protocol layers, negotiate operating system and kernel/user space issues, and eventually be delivered to a waiting application. If any of these operations are inefficient, system throughput will suffer. By creating an integrated platform for high-performance networking, Wind River Network Acceleration Platform eliminates system bottlenecks through software:

Getting Ethernet Frames to the Multi-core Chip

• Buffer management
• Queue management
• Efficient Ethernet driver

Moving Data Between Cores/OS

• Control plane/data plane
• Memory management
• Messaging systems

User Space/Kernel Space

• Context switching
• Kernel overhead
• Cache line thrashing

Upper Layer Protocol Processing

• Dynamic IP addressing
• IPsec/IKE
• Layer 4+ packet processing
• Single/multiple instances of stack components

Application Execution

• Single-/multi-instance
• User space/kernel space
• Multi-core aware

Wind River Network Acceleration Platform supports the latest generation of multi-core processors from Freescale and Intel. The platform has been optimized with the processor to take full advantage of available key hardware features, such as high-performance queuing and buffering, packet classification, and cryptography engines.

The platform has also been integrated with embedded development kits from leading commercial off-the-shelf hardware systems from companies such as Advantech, Emerson Network Power, and Kontron. Customers can leverage these kits to

• Begin development in minutes rather than weeks.
• Seamlessly implement new technologies.
• Focus on IP creation and differentiation.

Learn more about the available development kits.