Extended 6WIND Platform Support - Advantech x86 & NPU Hybrid

With the NCP-5260, customers are able to independently upgrade the x86 server board and Network Processor boards to adapt to their needs. The FWA product range however, addresses customers who choose not to include NPU technology, and prefer to leverage all the cores of the onboard x86 processors.

Advantech’s FWA range spans from entry-level dual core devices to the FWA-6500 enterprise appliance which represents the high end of the FWA product range with up to twelve of the latest generation x86 processing cores. The system includes up to 96GB of DDR3 memory and has capacity for two PCIe add-on cards and two 2.5" removable SATA HDDs.

Network interfaces are highly configurable, utilising four extension slots for a mixture of 4-port GbE, 8-port GbE or 2-port 10 GbE network interface cards. Remote management, maintenance and diagnostics are all fully supported by an integrated IPMI 2.0 solution. Upgrades of the FWA-6500 x86 processor, motherboard and I/O modules can also be made independently; allowing customers to cost effectively adapt their x86 platforms as technology improves.

"6WIND and Advantech enable OEMs to benefit from the x86 performance enhancements delivered by the 6WINDGate software without changing their code, thereby leveraging x86 multicore packet processing without learning multicore programming," said Eric Carmès, CEO of 6WIND.

"6WIND offers a comprehensive set of networking modules, fully compatible with standard APIs, which ensure that legacy applications and custom software run unchanged, minimizing schedule risk. The bottom line is faster integration and validation of new and complex technologies."

"If x86 customers find they do need the faster packet handling and forwarding which NPUs bring then they can revert to the hybrid architecture where their same software will work seamlessly with the 6WINDGate solution," concluded Carmès.

6WIND and Advantech will both be displaying their solutions at Mobile World Congress 2011, 14-17 February in Barcelona, Spain. 6WIND’s booth is 2H10 and Advantech’s 2G38, both in Hall 2.0.

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