TI INTRODUCES PROTOCOL STACK TO SIMPLIFY NETWORK CONNECTION FOR DSP-BASED INTERNET APPLIANCES.

Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) (TI) has unveiled a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) stack, which can reduce the cost of network connection by more than 50 percent for manufacturers of digital signal processing-based Internet appliances. Optimized for the TMS320C6000 digital signal processor (DSP) platform, the new stack, combined with a new developer's kit (NDK) also from TI, reduces the need for costly network processors and custom software royalties. This simple, ready-to-use solution allows embedded applications, such as digital imaging and audio, to easily and cost-effectively interconnect over networks.

"More and more companies are needing to connect their DSP-based embedded systems to an IP network," said Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts. "TI is the first DSP vendor to address this trend by supplying a TCP/IP stack that provides a dramatic cost reduction by eliminating the need for a separate network processor."

TI has further simplified this process by introducing the C6000 DSP TCP/IP Network Developer's Kit, which speeds manufacturers to market with solutions that require the connection of a C6000 DSP to a network. The NDK can be used to test the functionality and performance of TI's TCP/IP stack to make sure it meets the varied network connectivity requirements of diverse applications. Manufacturers can use the TCP/IP NDK to quickly integrate the stack with their DSP applications and get a head start on the software portion of their system design prior to completion of their target hardware. The developer's kit serves as a reference platform to assist debugging applications. In addition, the TCP/IP NDK features an Ethernet daughter card with a media-access controller (MAC)/physical layer (PHY) that eliminates the need for a network processor and associated software, thereby reducing overall unit cost.

"Our customers have told us that low-cost, ready-to-use network connectivity is critical to bringing differentiated products to market quickly," said Yvonne Cager, C6000 DSP marketing manager, TI. "With the TCP/IP stack and network developer's kit, we've given customers the tools to connect their Internet appliances quickly, easily and inexpensively."

Advis, a TI customer, is using TI's TCP/IP stack to cut its development time and quickly hit the market with its innovative streaming video Internet Appliances. The director of software and business development, Mico Perales, believes the high performance of the C6000 DSP platform from TI has allowed Advis to design a simpler, less expensive single-chip solutions. He adds that without integrating TI's TCP/IP stack on the C6000 DSP, they would have been forced into a multi-chip design.

The TCP/IP stack is optimized for TI's TMS320C6000 DSP platform, the highest-performing DSP platform available today. TI offers the silicon and system expertise needed to get customers to market quickly.

"NMS has years of experience with network systems incorporating TCP/IP stacks and ATM SARs running on TI's C6000 DSPs," said Charlie Walker, VP and general manager of IP Services Management business, NMS Communications. "The high clock rate and load-store architecture of the C6000 DSP platform from Texas Instruments makes it an extremely efficient engine for the high-speed packet processing needs of our PolicyPoint family of IP network access devices."

TI's C6000 TCP/IP stack is fully licensable, enabling customers to make unlimited copies of their C6000 DSP-based network connectivity code without having to pay per-unit royalties. The stack may be licensed from TI for $20K and is available after completion of the licensing agreement between TI and the manufacturer. The C6000 DSP TCP/IP Network Developers Kit has a suggested retail price of $995 and is available now for order-entry.