Tensilica's Xtensa Processor is Employed in Marvell’s Horizon III Communication Controllers

Update: Cadence Completes Acquisition of Tensilica (Apr 24, 2013)

Xtensa processor used as acceleration engine for encryption, decryption, flow classification and ATM features

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Sept. 22 2003 – Tensilica Inc., the leading supplier of configurable and extensible microprocessor cores announced that MarvellTM has integrated Tensilica’s Xtensa configurable processor in its new HorizonTM III family of single-chip WAN to Gigabit Ethernet LAN controllers.

“The Horizon family of communication controllers has been widely adopted by leading OEMs in the communications market segment, for a large variety of converged applications, such as: edge routers, integrated access devices and VoIP equipment” stated Alon Hurwitz, Director of Product Marketing for the Communication Controllers, Marvell Semiconductor. “Tensilica’s Xtensa processor integrated in our Horizon III communication controller is the leading solution to meet our customer’s demand for higher performance and flexibility.”

The highly customized Xtensa processor forms the heart of Marvell’s NetGXTM co- processor. The Marvell NetGX co-processor is an integrated, high-performance, low power, and extremely code efficient 32-bit programmable RISC processor. The NetGX co-processor enhances data path processing for full IP security encryption and authentication protocols as well as flow classification and ATM features. NetGX allows Marvell’s customers to introduce highly secured, feature-rich enterprise products with minimal effort.

The NetGX co-processor is integrated into the Horizon III controllers and other Marvell communications solutions. The Marvell Horizon III family allows leading OEMs to build feature-rich, highly integrated and cost-optimized routers for customers migrating from Fast Ethernet to Gigabit Ethernet. The NetGX co-processor also was used in Marvell’s earlier Horizon products as well as their Link Street 88E6318 IPSec VPN (Virtual Private Network) gateway router.

“Marvell’s application really showcases the power of our customizable Xtensa processors,” stated Bernie Rosenthal, Tensilica’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales. “We are very pleased that they have been able to use their innovative NetGX co-processor across several products.”

About Tensilica
Tensilica was founded in July 1997 to address the growing need for optimized, application-specific microprocessor solutions in high-volume embedded applications. With a configurable and extensible microprocessor core called Xtensa, Tensilica is the only company that has automated and patented the time-consuming process of generating a customized microprocessor core along with a complete software development tool environment, producing new configurations in a matter of hours. For more information, visit www.tensilica.com.

# # #

Editors’ Notes:

“Tensilica” and “Xtensa” are registered trademarks belonging to Tensilica Inc. Marvell, Horizon and NetGX are trademarks of Marvell. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
Tensilica’s announced licensees are Agilent, Astute Networks, Avision, Bay Microsystems, Berkeley Wireless Research Center, Broadcom, Cisco Systems, Conexant Systems, Cypress, ETRI, FUJIFILM Microdevices, Fujitsu Ltd., Hudson Soft, Hughes Network Systems, IC4IC, Ikanos Communications, JNI Corporation, Marvell, Mindspeed Technologies, National Semiconductor, NEC Laboratories America, NEC Corporation, Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT), Olympus Optical Co. Ltd., ONEX Communications, OptiX Networks, Osaka & Kyoto Universities, S2io, Solid State Systems, Sony, STMicroelectronics, TranSwitch Corporation, Trebia Networks, Victor Company of Japan (JVC) and ZiLOG.