Press Release
                        Contact:-
                        Aston Bridgman
                        NEC Corporation	
                        TEL    :81-3-3798-6511
                        FAX    :81-3-3457-7249
                        E-mail : Aston_Bridgman@HO-PRD.ccgw.nec.co.jp

*****For immediate use May 20, 1998

NEC Develops Address Search Engine LSI Chip the Highest Speed in the world

The new product aiming at use in routers and LAN switches, can significantly improve the routing speed which has to date been a bottleneck in rapidly increasing communications traffic. The µPD98421 offers several major features as follows:

• Ultra high-speed "longest prefix match" function
  With the µPD98421, the longest prefix match function (required by routers and layer-3 switches) can be performed about 20 times faster than conventional software processing.
• High-speed synchronous operation at 50/33 MHz
  A maximum frequency of 50/33 MHz allows high-speed search and entry, and data read/write operations for reordering in routing tables to be performed easily and rapidly.
• Memory size of 64 bits X 8K entries
  The memory capacity of the µPD98421 makes it suitable for layer-3 switches. In addition, when used in a large-scale router, up to four devices can be connected without delays, thus expanding memory up to 32K entries.
• Supports three search modes
  Three search modes are offered including full match, masked full match, and longest prefix match. When the µPD98421 is used in a multi-layer switch, full match and longest prefix match can be used selectively.

Samples of the new LSI are priced at 10,000yen, with volume production starting in October 1998 at 20,000 chips per month.

Background:

The µPD98421 was developed in collaboration with NEC's C&C Media Research Laboratories at its Central Research Laboratories facility, and makes use of a new search method for the longest prefix match function to conduct searches at very high speed.

Networking is experiencing vigorous growth with the increase in, for example, Internet users and corporate LANs (local area networks). The networking market is therefore predicted to grow further.

As networks have expanded, the demand for higher transmission speed is also increasing. To meet this demand, new high-speed network technologies and devices such as 100 Mbps Ethernet and ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) are becoming more widespread. This rise in network speeds has also driven a need for higher processing capabilities in devices such as routers and LAN switches, and it is estimated that devices using hardware processing instead of conventional software processing to perform high-speed switching operations, will increase.

Devices such as routers and LAN switches must be able to determine transfer ports by conducting address searches. To improve the processing capabilities of these devices, the processing speed of the address search function must be increased using hardware processing. The µPD98421 was developed in response to such market trends. With its ability to perform a longest prefix match function at very high speeds, it is particularly suitable for use in routers and layer-3 switches.

• Major specifications of the µPD98421
• Terminology

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