The Linley Group Releases Latest Guide to Network Processors

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire - Jul 26, 2012) - The Linley Group, the industry's leading source for independent technology analysis of semiconductors for networking, communications, mobile, and wireless applications, today released "A Guide to Network Processors, Thirteenth Edition," which details the market and technology trends impacting current and future network processor (NPU) design. Though the market was down slightly from 2010, The Linley Group estimates revenue of $372 million in 2011 and forecasts growth to resume this year, reaching $500 million by 2014. The report identifies EZchip, LSI and PMC-Sierra (Wintegra) as the top-three active NPU vendors.

"Critical to carrier-equipment designs, network processors are now being used in applications spanning wireless backhaul and Carrier Ethernet switch/routers," said Bob Wheeler, senior analyst for The Linley Group. "Access NPUs must now support data rates of 10Gbps and beyond, while metro-class NPUs are scaling to 100Gbps and beyond to support high-density line cards and emerging 100G Ethernet. This expanding market has created increased competition and opportunities for a growing list of NPU vendors."

The report includes introductory chapters detailing the key trends in the NPU market. It then dedicates an entire chapter to each of the major players including Broadcom, EZchip, LSI, Marvell (Xelerated), Netronome, and PMC-Sierra (Wintegra). The Broadcom chapter also covers search coprocessors (KBPs) acquired through its NetLogic acquisition. 

For each vendor, the report provides a company overview, strategic analysis, a detailed technology description, implementation examples, a roadmap of future products where available, key announced customers, and overall conclusions.

"A Guide to Network Processors, Thirteenth Edition," is currently available directly from The Linley Group. For further details, including pricing and table of contents, as well as a list of included figures and tables, visit the web site at http://www.linleygroup.com/npu

About The Linley Group

The Linley Group is the industry's leading source for independent technology analysis of semiconductors for networking, communications, mobile, and wireless applications. The company provides strategic consulting services, in-depth analytical reports, and Linley Tech events focused on advanced technology topics. The Linley Group is also the publisher of Microprocessor Report, the leading technical publication for unbiased analysis of high-performance processor technology. For insights on recent industry news, subscribe to the company's free email newsletters: Linley Wire, Linley on Mobile and Processor Watch.