Network Processing Forum Announces Specification Progress at the One-Year Mark; Progress Attained on Hardware, Software and Benchmarking Fronts.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SUPERnet 2002

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2002

The Network Processing Forum (NP Forum) today announced that it has accomplished key specification progress on the eve of its first anniversary as an industry working group. With membership now topping 90 companies and growing steadily, the Forum's mission is to facilitate the implementation of member-developed specifications for Network Processing Elements (NPEs) that will reduce design burden and time-to-market for next-generation networking and telecommunications equipment. In addition, benchmarking specifications provide a common methodology for quantifying and comparing NPE performance. Key accomplishments to date include:

Hardware Working Group

This Working Group is focused on the definition, promotion, and delivery of hardware interfaces for the complete packet data path (Streaming Interface) through a Network Processing Element (NPE) as well as for NPEs that do not need to be in the direct data path (Look-Aside Interface), such as memory or co-processing functions.

Look-Aside Interface

The Look-Aside Interface Specification (LA-1) was ratified by the Hardware Working Group (HWG) in January, and now moves to final member vote and specification release by end of March 2002. This significant accomplishment by member technical teams represents the first HWG document to complete the NP Forum specification process since the organization's creation in February 2001. LA-1 targets lookup and address-mapped devices such as Ternary CAMs (TCAMs), classifiers, and co-processors, and is based on the integration of the QDR (Quad Data Rate) specification with Sigma memory interface enhancements at speeds between 133 and 200 Mhz.

As one of the inherent benefits of the NP Forum charter, specifications are generated by industry leading member companies, providing user confidence in both wide adoption and relevance to real world needs. LA-1 pulls together a very diverse and often times proprietary set of interfaces into a single industry-approved specification, thereby enabling systems vendors a wider choice in selecting system components. In addition to the LA-1 specification, HWG members have also been busy initiating a second version of the Look-Aside interface (LA-2) for response request-based NPEs, further extending the usefulness of an industry standard interface specification to a broader range of products.

Streaming Interface

In line with forecasts from previous NP Forum updates, the Streaming Interface (SI) specification is on track for HWG ratification by end of March 2002. As one of the most difficult and advanced high-speed interfaces ever to be tackled, industry-leading member companies continue to work together and gain consensus in solving difficult flow control, error handling, and other technical issues. With over 30 member company representatives meeting weekly to hammer out remaining real-world technical issues, significant progress is being made on this highly anticipated document. The specification provides support for unicast, multicast, and broadcast traffic via full-duplex or simplex operation with a separate control/status channel in the reverse direction. SPI-4 Phase 2 (SPI-4.2) from OIF (with whom the NP Forum has established a liaison relationship) is leveraged in the design to attain OC-192 speeds and forward compatibility with the emerging SPI-5 standard for OC-768 speeds.

Benchmarking Working Group

The objectives of the Benchmarking Working Group (BWG) are definition, promotion, and delivery of a standard set of benchmarks for NPEs as well as methods for reporting benchmark results.

IPv4 Forwarding Benchmark Specification

The BWG has completed initial Task Group balloting on the IPv4 Forwarding Benchmark draft, with principal member balloting targeted for 2Q 2002. This specification provides a common and consistent methodology that enables NPU vendors to characterize throughput, forwarding rate, and latency performance of their products while forwarding IPv4 packets.

Additional Benchmarking Working Group Status

Work continues on the MPLS benchmark for NPUs, which is the follow-on project to the IPv4 forwarding benchmarks. Initial work has begun on task-level benchmarks, such as longest prefix match. In addition, the Switch Fabric Task Group has been chartered and is compiling a hierarchy of documents required to benchmark these NPEs. This includes traffic models, performance metrics, black box model description, and the actual benchmark specifications.

Software Working Group

The Software Working Group (SWG) purpose is to define, promote, and deliver software interfaces that permit integration between multiple software applications and NPEs.

Software Framework and Foundation Activity

The SWG made significant progress on essential foundational Architecture and Infrastructure specifications. The Framework specification has now been completed, leveraging the IETF ForCES Working Group functional element model. This work includes delineation of system and abstract layers and is on track for Work Group ballot by end of January 2002. Similarly, the Foundations-specification effort gained consensus on calling conventions, result/error reporting, and event handling issues, and is on track for early 2Q completion.

IPv4 Forwarding API

The SWG closed in on completion of the IPv4 Forwarding API specification, its first complete service level API. This effort is on track for full NPF membership vote in 2Q 02. To drive this work forward, the SWG is holding an interim meeting in March 2002 to address and resolve all remaining task group items.

To learn more about NP Forum activities, visit booth No. 809 at the SUPERnet Conference and Exhibition, Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA. Visit the conference website: http://www.supernet2002.com.

About the Network Processing Forum

The Network Processing Forum (NP Forum) was organized to facilitate and accelerate the development of next-generation networking and telecommunications products. By establishing common specifications, the NP Forum will enable equipment providers to significantly reduce their design burden while having the flexibility to use the best components to fit their requirements. The organization was formed to build on the efforts of two former industry groups -- the Common Programming Interface Forum (CPIX) and the Common Switch Interface Consortium (CSIX) -- by delivering specifications for programmable network elements that reduce equipment time-to-market while dramatically increasing time-in-market. Established in February 2001, the NP Forum currently has 90 members, up from 77 in Q3 2001. For more information, visit the Forum's web site at http://www.npforum.org.