Night of the living NPU dead

They’re ba-a-a-a-a-ck! After most analysts declared the datapath-specific network processor market dead and buried, Pittsburgh-area startup Netronome Systems is ready to quell the rumors of imminent demise. Here’s why I like Netronome: The company was founded by former engineers with Fore Systems Inc., a pioneer in Asynchronous Transfer Mode processing that got neglected as ATM lost favor to Ethernet. Netronome is licensing the Intel IXP instruction set, a neat architecture that deserves a wider base of users. And it’s just fun to see people give a new try at in-line packet processing.

Here’s why I have some trepidation about Netronome’s chances: Since the first generation of NPUs withered on the vine, the data communications market hasn’t just contracted further, it’s crashed and burned. Most OEMs who want datapath processing, or even combined control-plane and data-plane processing, look to an FPGA. Netronome combines ARM and IXP processing in an architecture optimized for multi-channel packet processing. But would its price-per-bit effectiveness be competitive with an FPGA aimed at 40G or 100G Ethernet?

The question itself may be moot, because higher-end FPGA vendors these days are aiming their products at markets such as embedded, mil-aero, automotive, and handheld applications. Network infrastructure is on life support, and scarcely showing a pulse. When some modicum of business re-emerges, the few scraps may be split among Ericsson, Cisco, and Huawei, with even giants like Alcatel-Lucent scrambling for leftovers. I applaud Netronome for trying to bring back the NPU, but I fear for the company’s opportunities in the years ahead.