FPGA-based software works with Intel-powered SmartNICs

Napatech in partnership with Silicom announced the availability of its Link-Virtualization FPGA-based SmartNIC software for Silicom’s latest generation of Intel FPGA-based SmartNICs. The combination of Napatech’s software and Silicom’s SmartNIC increases the application, networking, security, and storage performance of servers deployed in virtualized data centers.

Napatech’s Link-Virtualization software is a production-grade, turn-key solution that harnesses the capabilities pioneered by hyper-scale cloud service providers, and makes them readily available to the cloud, 5G telecom, and enterprise data center networks of every size.

The software is optimized for Silicom’s C5010X SmartNIC which was created from the recently announced Intel FPGA SmartNIC C5000X-PL platform, as well as the Silicon N5010 SmartNIC for high performance networking acceleration. The latest generation of Intel FPGA-based SmartNIC platforms are available with an array of hardware options and combinations including Intel Stratix 10 FPGAs, Intel Ethernet 800 Series controllers, and Intel Xeon D processors.

The combination of Napatech’s Link-Virtualization software and Silicom’s Intel FPGA-based SmartNICs provides a unique and compelling choice for server connectivity to modern data center operators, with benefits that include: Performance: Line-rate networking with ultra-low latency for 10, 25, and 100GbE; Agility: Programmable FPGAs for hardware performance at the speed of software DevOps innovation; Efficiency: Releasing valuable CPU resources for applications and services that generate revenue; Security: Offload and acceleration of compute-intense security processing workloads; Economics: The optimal combination of performance, features, programmability, and cost; Orchestration: Automated management, provisioning, and configuration at scale; Sustainability: An open, standard design in an environmentally friendly size and power configuration.

Leading use cases supported by the solution include full and partial Open vSwitch (OVS) offload, live migration, hardware quality of service, VM-to-VM network, and application performance monitoring, network telemetry, service chaining, and custom workload integration.