Broadcom, ARM team up on open network infrastructure chip
The word "open" has become a big buzz term in IT this year, being applied in virtually every use case from new smartphone apps to crunching big data into business insights (and hopefully cost savings).
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The latest example comes courtesy of Broadcom and ARM, which are teaming up on developing a new processor architecture optimized for Network Function Virtualization (NFV) practices.
Broadcom execs cited the proliferation of mobile devices and HD media content as two examples of what is putting pressure on network infrastructures, in turn demanding improved efficiency and flexibility when it comes to intelligent multi-core processors.
With the goal of advancing open and standards-based NFV software in IT environments, the new ARMv8-A processor platform combines Broadcom's architectural license with ARM's standards approach on CPUs.
Broadcom reps further asserted that this System-on-a-Chip can support "full virtualization," which was translated to mean serving each individual virtual machine on a given network without disrupting delivery and performance to any other user.
While it was said to have been in development for some time now, Broadcom has refrained from publishing a roadmap or release timeline, only stipulating that they will move forward once 16-nanometer production availability is available.
Screenshot via Broadcom