Hosted by Alix Paultre, the Tinker’s Toolbox is the Advantage Design Group’s web-based interview show where we talk about the latest technology, components, and design issues for the electronic design engineering community.
In today’s podcast we talk to Jim St. Leger of Intel (top) and Charlie Ashton of 6WIND (bottom)about packet processing and data exchange within a network. 6WIND recently announced the availability of its 6WINDGate software with optimized support for the Intel Data Plane Development Kit (Intel DPDK), providing a comprehensive set of networking and security features for Intel architecture-based mobile infrastructure and cloud networking products.
PODCAST
Here is a link to the podcast in case the play button is not visible: Intel 6WIND interview
Here is a white paper on Packet Processing Software for Network Security
Here is a white paper on Packet Processing Software for Wireless Infrastructure
Here is the press release on the collaboration:
6WIND, a creator of commercial multicore packet processing software, announced the availability of its 6WINDGate software with optimized support for the Intel Data
Plane Development Kit (Intel® DPDK). 6WIND will showcase its support for the Intel DPDK at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco.
Already deployed by a wide range of OEMs worldwide, 6WINDGate enables the development of best-in-class mobile
infrastructure and cloud networking products. To support exponential growth in Internet data and video traffic, nextgeneration equipment must deliver increasing throughput while providing support for intelligent networking and
advanced security protocols. Ever-increasing levels of packet processing must be provided with on-going
improvements in energy efficiency, while shrinking product lifecycles dictate that application software must be reused
to the maximum extent.
To address these requirements, 6WINDGate uses the advanced architecture of Intel multicore processors, fully
integrating the powerful packet processing framework and multicore execution environment provided by the Intel Data
Plane Development Kit software to deliver compelling networking performance while retaining full compatibility with
standard Operating System APIs.
On a dual-Intel Xeon processor E5645 platform with a clock speed of 3.33GHz, running the Intel DPDK,
6WINDGate delivers over 16 million packets per second, per core of IP forwarding performance, thereby forwarding
10Gbps of network traffic in each core (64-byte packets). This performance scales linearly with the number of cores
configured to run 6WINDGate until the maximum bandwidth of the hardware platform is reached. Processor cores not
used to run 6WINDGate are available to run value-added application software or Virtual Machines (VMs), resulting in
a highly efficient and flexible system for advanced networking equipment.
6WINDGate provides a comprehensive, portable suite of networking protocols optimized for multicore platforms.
These include a full set of control plane modules (routing, security, connectivity, mobility etc.), a high-performance
networking stack and a wide range of fast path protocols (IPsec, QoS, protocol termination, VLAN etc.) optimized for
processors such as the Intel® Xeon® processor family. 6WINDGate eliminates the need for OEMs to invest their
engineering resources into combining discrete protocols from multiple sources and/or designing custom optimizations
to exploit the performance features of the processor they have selected.
6WIND Announces Intel DPDK Support 2
“We are pleased to release our support for the Intel Data Plane Development Kit as part of our on-going support for
multicore Intel architecture solutions”, said Eric Carmès, CEO of 6WIND. “The 6WINDGate software enables highperformance, software-based networking for cloud equipment based on Intel architecture platforms, while eliminating the time-consuming in-house software development that adds risk to product launch schedules. Many of our clients have already used the 6WINDGate software to develop industry-leading networking products based on Intel
architecture processors. We look forward to continued business success as a result of our close collaboration with
Intel in developing solutions for future Intel platforms.”
“The Intel Data Plane Development Kit is a software library that enables packet processing software to showcase
the true performance potential of multicore Intel architecture platforms. Commercial solutions such as 6WINDGate
enable customers to quickly implement workload consolidation, enabling not only high performance packet
processing but also control plane and application workloads, all on Intel architecture” said Jim St. Leger, technology
marketing manager for Intel’s Embedded and Communications Group.
In order to further accelerate their clients’ development process and minimize schedule risk, 6WIND provides the
6WINDGate software pre-integrated with the Intel DPDK, along with full technical support for the combined solution.
This integrated package avoids the need for clients to perform the integration themselves and ensures seamless
synchronization between revisions of 6WINDGate and Intel DPDK.
6WINDGate support for the Intel DPDK is available now. For more information please visit https://www.6wind.com/.