Broadcom Introduces World's First Security Processor to Operate at Multi-Gigabit Speeds for Virtual Private Networks.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--January 16, 2001

2.4 Gigabit per Second Performance Delivers Seven Times

the Processing Power of Existing Solutions, Eliminating

Security Bottlenecks in Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

Across Storage, Local, Metropolitan and Wide Area Networks

Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq:BRCM), the leading provider of integrated circuits enabling broadband communications, today announced the Broadcom(R) BCM5840, the world's first single-chip 2.4 Gigabit per second (Gbps) IP security (IPSec) processor. The newest addition to Broadcom's family of wirespeed CryptoNET(TM) security processors, the BCM5840 eliminates Virtual Private Network (VPN) bottlenecks by delivering security encryption and authentication at multi-Gigabit speeds across the entire network infrastructure.

The proliferation of broadband communications over the Internet and corporate Intranets has led to a phenomenal increase in communication interchanges between the corporation and branch offices and remote users as well as in business-to-business and e-commerce transactions. These applications have accelerated the evolution of the metropolitan area network (local service provider) infrastructure from T1/E1 (1.5 Mbps) up to multi-Gigabit speeds. To ensure users of a secure Internet infrastructure that is transparent and non-encumbering, encryption and authentication must keep up with the increasing speeds of private and public networks.

Broadcom's advanced security processor will enable corporations and service providers to utilize Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to economically and securely expand their networks across geographic reaches to remote users and branch offices at multi-Gigabit speeds using the most advanced standard-compliant security protocols. Targeted at routers, firewalls, switches, storage networks and access servers, the BCM5840 sustains OC-48 (2.4 Gbps) performance across the processing-intensive workloads generated by leading-edge enterprise and carrier-class networks that transport voice, video and data. The BCM5840 is ideally suited for handling the typical traffic mix of leading edge networks -- short packets and large numbers of connections -- at full OC-48 rates.

The architecture of the BCM5840 is scalable and ideally positions Broadcom to address network convergence security applications. These include SAN, LAN, MAN and WAN infrastructures transitioning from multi-Megabit data rates up to OC-192 (10 Gbps). Furthermore, the BCM5840 fully leverages Broadcom's extensive security software libraries and reference system designs for the CryptoNET(TM) family of security processors.

"Security has become an essential element of the Internet infrastructure and has increasingly become a limiting factor in terms of network throughput and latency. This has resulted in corporations leasing expensive, dedicated lines for remote access to corporate Intranets and business-to-business transactions," said Marty Colombatto, Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Networking Business Unit. "The advanced security processing power in the BCM5840 will reduce or eliminate the need for these dedicated lines, enabling businesses and people to use the Internet to reliably and securely communicate confidential information over the public networks at multi-Gigabit speeds."

"This solution from Broadcom represents the first generally available Gigabit security processors," said Jeff Wilson, Executive Director of Infonetics Research. "Security is rapidly becoming a required component of all networking products, and current IPSec and SSL accelerators would definitely create bottlenecks in high-end switches and routers. I expect there are many networking vendors clamoring to get their hands on these chips."

The BCM5840 complements Broadcom's Gigabit-speed transceivers, media access controllers (MACs) and switches as well as the high performance network processors resulting from the company's acquisition of SiByte, Inc. and the SystemI/O(TM) technology for servers resulting from its forthcoming acquisition of ServerWorks Corp. This broad, state-of-the-art Gigabit family of products positions Broadcom to provide all of the key silicon required in most Gigabit VPN products, including tunnel servers, network interface cards (NICs), access devices, switches and routers, and further establishes the company not only as the consummate leader in the high-speed networking market, but also as a pioneer in network security. "Broadcom is extremely well positioned to capitalize on the exploding security market with discrete solutions, such as the BCM5840, and also through our unique ability to integrate the security functionality into other Broadcom products," noted Colombatto.

According to Dataquest, the worldwide security processor market will experience a 65 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2000 and 2004, reaching a market opportunity of more than $626 million in the forecast period. Infonetics reports that worldwide expenditures for VPN products and services will jump from $6.3 billion this year to just over $39.8 billion by 2004.

Product Features

The innovative BCM5840 sustains 2.4 Gbps wirespeed performance for today's state-of-the-art strong security algorithms such as Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES)-CBC, Hashed Message Authentication Code -- Secure Hash Algorithm (HMAC-SHA-1), and Hashed Message Authentication Code -- Message Digest (HMAC-MD5) IPSec processing. A rich and flexible feature set combined with an industry standard POS-PHY-3 interface enables the BCM5840 to address a wide variety of applications. The BCM5840's IPSec-aware architecture optimizes security processing with flexible packet processing options (multiple keying options), packet header processing (mutable fields) and on-chip key storage. The processor's scalable architecture addresses the entire broadband spectrum, from residential equipment (at Megabit rates) to center-of-the-Internet-cloud equipment (at Gigabit and Terabit rates).

To support system design and testing using the BCM5840, Broadcom is offering an evaluation kit to customers. The kit includes a PCI evaluation board, extensive CryptoNET software libraries, software drivers and demonstration programs, and product documentation.

The BCM5840 is currently sampling to lead customers, with production quantities expected to be available in the second quarter. It is priced at $300 in sample quantities and is packaged in a 208-pin MQFP package.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is the leading provider of highly integrated silicon solutions that enable broadband digital transmission of voice, video, and data. Using proprietary technologies and advanced design methodologies, the company designs, develops and supplies integrated circuits for a number of the most significant broadband communications markets, including the markets for cable set-top boxes, cable modems, high-speed local, metropolitan and wide area networks, home networking, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), carrier access, residential broadband gateways, direct broadcast satellite and terrestrial digital broadcast, optical networking, digital subscriber lines (xDSL) and wireless communications. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and may be contacted at 949-450-8700 or at www.broadcom.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation 

Reform Act of 1995:

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will" and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with the BCM5840 product include, but are not limited to, the timing and successful completion of technology and product development through volume production; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets for security processors; delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in the foregoing markets; the timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the risks of non-qualification or non-certification; general economic conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders; the loss of a key customer; the volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume sales; silicon wafer pricing and the availability of foundry and assembly capacity and raw materials; the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; intellectual property disputes and customer indemnification claims; fluctuations in the manufacturing yields of our third party semiconductor foundries and other problems or delays in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our products; our ability to specify, develop or acquire, complete, introduce, market and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a timely manner; the effects of new and emerging technologies; the effectiveness of our product cost reduction efforts; the risks of producing products with new suppliers and at new fabrication and assembly facilities; problems or delays that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in achieving higher levels of design integration; the risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations; our ability to retain and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees in the numbers, with the capabilities, and at the compensation levels needed to implement our business and product plans; changes in our product or customer mix; the quality of our products and any remediation costs; the effects of natural disasters and other events beyond our control; the level of orders received that can be shipped in a fiscal quarter; and other factors.

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