6WIND, provider of software for communication systems design for defense and electronics networking, expanded its 6WINDGate packet processing software so that it can be deployed to a broader range of Advantech (News - Alert) systems.

Advantech, a manufacturer of telecom computing blades and multicore network processor platforms, explained that its FWA Network Application Platform range based on multicore x86 processors will be the new solutions to be supported by 6WINDGate software. The company’s multicore MIPS-based Packetarium platforms are already supported.

According to 6WIND, the 6WINDGate software is a drop-in replacement for standard Operating System networking stacks. It typically provides up to 10x the packet processing performance of a standard networking stack, significantly improving the price-performance and power-performance ratios of networking equipment.

Officials with Advantech asserted that their NCP-5260 hybrid system design takes the original Packetarium concept one step further by including high-performance, x86 server class computing coupled with a switch and management complex. It allows OEMs to run legacy x86 application code seamlessly with one or two multicore Packetarium Network Processor (News - Alert) Boards for accelerated packet processing on up to 16 x 10 GbE external interfaces.

The company is working to extend the 6WINDGate packet processing software’s support across Advantech’s all-x86 systems tweaked to use the full potential of the Advantech’s multicore processors and data plane software technology.

6WIND along with Advantech supposedly enables OEMs to benefit from the x86 performance enhancements delivered by the 6WINDGate software without changing their code, thereby leveraging x86 multicore packet processing without learning multicore programming. Its network modules are fully compatible with standard APIs and are capable of making sure that legacy applications and custom software run unchanged, minimizing schedule risk.

Advantech claimed that its Network Application Platforms, FWA-Firewall series, offers a range of x86 architecture based network appliances targeted for networking and network security applications. Designed with a modular concept, the FWA series also has customizable expansion options to fit any application needs.