Overview

With Intel® processors, it's possible to transition from using discrete architectures per major workload (application, control, packet and signal processing) to a single architecture that consolidates the workloads into a more scalable and simplified solution. As a result, developers may be able to eliminate special-purpose hardware such as network processors (NPUs), co-processors, ASICs, and FPGAs.

This is possible, in large part, due to the Intel® Data Plane Development Kit (Intel® DPDK), a set of software libraries that can improve packet processing performance by up to ten times. As a result, it’s possible to achieve over 80 Mpps throughput on a single Intel® Xeon processor and double that with a dual-processor configuration¹. Read the product brief >

This solution is ideal for telecom wireless infrastructure evolved packet core (EPC) applications and other network elements.  Packet processing while executing other workloads on an Intel processor reduces hardware costs, simplifies the application development environment, and reduces time to market. The Intel DPDK is also playing a critical role in Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). Read more >

Another way to cut system cost is to do away with various add-on acceleration modules. Instead, use the acceleration modules that are already on Intel processor-based platforms with Intel® QuickAssist Technology and the Intel DPDK.

Examples of Ecosystem Vendors Using the Intel DPDK

Wind River* offers a portfolio of network acceleration solutions.

6WIND* provides packet processing software.

Tieto* is an R&D consultancy company with a strong background in packet processing.