Bivio Names Freescale Semiconductor a Strategic Supplier of High-Performance Processors; Bivio 2000 Network Platform Benefits from High Performance, Low Power Requirements, and Small Size of Freescale's MPC74xx Processor Family.

PLEASANTON, Calif. -- Bivio Networks, the leader in high-performance network appliance platforms for the Software-Driven Network(TM), today announced Freescale Semiconductor as a strategic platform partner. Bivio employs the Freescale MPC74xx family of high-performance, low-power, 32-bit processors built on Power Architecture(TM) technology in its Bivio 2000 platform. The Bivio 2000 is an open, high-performance, programmable network appliance that provides a groundbreaking scalable multiprocessor architecture. This architecture is specifically optimized for wire-speed execution of critical network infrastructure applications requiring deep packet processing at multi-gigabit speeds such as security, traffic management, application acceleration, VoIP, and wireless.

"Freescale's processors provide Bivio with the best combination of performance, integrated features, and low power dissipation in a space-saving footprint," said Alex Kleyman, director of hardware development for Bivio. "The high-performance PowerPC core coupled with AltiVec(TM) technology and large on-chip cache memory is important for Bivio's scalable, multiprocessor-based architecture. Freescale processors enable us to deliver the highest performance within challenging space and power constraints; in addition, they support a hardened Linux environment for our customers' mission-critical applications."

"The Bivio 2000 is an excellent platform that performs the type of leading-edge networking applications the Freescale MPC74xx processor family was designed to handle," said Lynelle McKay, vice president and general manager of Freescale's Digital Systems Division. "As a strategic supplier to Bivio, Freescale looks forward to supplying Bivio with high-performance processors designed to optimize network appliances well into the future."

Bivio Delivers Performance with Freescale Processor Family

The MPC74xx processor family enables Bivio to deliver a scalable, high-performance platform that supports wire-speed deep packet inspection of multi-gigabit network applications. Freescale's AltiVec technology, which is integrated in the MPC74xx processor family, provides software developers with a powerful engine that offers dramatic acceleration in performance-driven, high-bandwidth computing and communications applications such as TCP/IP, Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), and encryption-protocol performance enhancement.

The Bivio 2000 further benefits from Freescale's silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology, engineered to help deliver significant power savings without sacrificing speed. Total power management is an important factor for organizations that depend on multiple networking devices that must coexist in a rack or closet without overheating. Bivio is able to achieve savings in rack space (the Bivio 2000 requires only 2U, or 3.5 inches high, of rack space), power costs, and performance costs due to the low-power design of the Freescale MPC74xx processor family.

Bivio also plans to leverage Freescale's next-generation multicore processors in future platform designs. These processors, which feature similar space and power characteristics, are designed to enable Bivio to deliver wire-speed appliances capable of exceeding the 4Gb raw throughput currently achieved by the Bivio 2000.

Bivio Enables the Most Efficient Application Solutions for the Software-Driven Network

The Bivio 2000 appliance platform delivers the wire-speed performance normally associated with ASIC-driven hardware, enabling it to act as a policy enforcement engine that provides security functionality, application acceleration, traffic management, and VoIP QoS -- all of which require deep packet inspection and real-time content processing. Bivio's appliance architecture allows network equipment manufacturers and application developers to focus on their core competencies -- software development -- and still compete effectively with ASIC-driven systems from other vendors. Bivio's multi-gigabit-performance platform supports enhanced, open Linux software and includes a comprehensive set of common networking and management functions, making it ideal for software companies that want to deliver high-performance applications but do not have the resources to build their own ASIC.

About Bivio Networks

Bivio Networks has developed an award-winning deep-packet-inspection and processing platform that combines unparalleled scaling of network performance, processing power, and application agility. Bivio's network appliance platform features a groundbreaking architecture specifically optimized for wire-speed execution of emerging network services that increasingly demand deep packet processing combined with high network throughput. Based on open industry standards, Bivio Networks fuses unmatched flexibility with uncompromising performance to enable its customers to overcome existing bottlenecks and deliver the foundation of the next-generation network infrastructure. Headquartered in Pleasanton, California, Bivio Networks is backed by Goldman Sachs, InterWest Partners, Storm Ventures, and Venrock Associates. More information is available at http://www.bivio.net/.