Broadcom is sampling a PCI-X based security co-processor that it says performs 250 percent better than its previous CryptoNetX chips, while providing software compatibility. The BCM5825 comes with Linux drivers and support, and targets high-end and mid-range VPN appliances, firewall appliances, and SSL-based appliances.

According to Broadcom, the BCM5825 can process 1Gbps of IPsec or AES traffic, 12,000 RSA transactions per second, or 9,000 IKE (Internet Key Exchange) negotiations per second, “dramatically improving” the response time of Layer 4+ switches, server load balancers, servers, and other applications with integrated SSL capabilities.

The BCM5825's PCI-X interface supports 32- or 64-bit operation, and PCI bus speeds of 33, 66, or 133MHz. The small-footprint chip requires no external components, and has a low power requirement of 3W when used with a core voltage of 1.2V in a 3.3V PCI-X device, Broadcom says.

The BCM5825 includes hardware public key acceleration, a true random number generator, an encryption engine for AES/3DES/DES/ARCFour, and hardware SHA-1/MD5 authentication

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The BCM5825 supports Broadcom APIs for IPsec and SSL application software. It comes with a software design kit that supports Linux, VxWorks, and BSD, the company says.

Joseph Wallace, director of marketing for Broadcom's security line, said, “The high-performance, power-efficient BCM5825 gives our customers the ability to quickly and cost-effectively expand their product families.”

Sanjay Iyer, senior analyst with the Linley Group, said, “The BCM5825 [extends] Broadcom's reach into diverse high-performance security applications.”

Availability

The BCM5825 is currently sampling, in a 400-pin BGA (ball-grid array) package. Pricing is available upon request.

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