In the wake of its previous Packetarium network processor success, Advantech (News - Alert) has released yet another network processor under the Packetarium branding.

Advantech’s newest installment, the 1U 1-Way Packetarium network processor platform, features one standard PCIe expansion, support up to eight SATA 2 SSDs, FRU-designed I/O tray, support different external Ethernet I/O and entry-level access to the Advantech Packetarium-based network appliance.

The NCP-3120 is the entry level version of the popular Packetarium appliance. It offers powerful, multi-core Packeterium network processing boards for wire speed packet processing and the main carrier board provides eight SATA controllers, eight lanes PCI (News - Alert) Express Gen2 expansion slots and two I/O slots for FRU-designed I/O board usage.

The new network processor’s FRU-designed I/O board could provide more flexibility than a standard external I/O configuration.

Each I/O slot could provide up to 20 Gigabits in bandwidth. Eight SATA controllers on the server board connect to eight SATA 2 devices. Each device with the availability of a dedicated PCI Express bus provides high performance. The scalability of the NCP-3120 position it ideally for OEMs designing entry level systems in enterprise networking.

The NCP-3120 network processor is applicable for applications in service provider networks for IPTV (News - Alert), storage function, enhanced security, in content-aware routing and subscriber-based services.

And while this network processor is indeed impressive, Advantech has been up to other things as well.

The company recently acquired Innocore Gaming Ltd., an embedded gaming platform provider in the UK.

K.C. Liu, chairman and CEO of Advantech stated, “Advantech has been looking for the right opportunity to enter the vertical market of gaming. Innocore has an unrivalled brand name and with an impressive track record of growth, product development, and dedicated experience providing the ideal opportunity for Advantech. After the acquisition, the business unit will be rebranded to Advantech-Innocore and the current Innocore CEO, Edward Price, who has proven track record of more than 12 years in the gaming industry, will continue to lead Advantech-Innocore.”

What did Innocore’s representatives have to say about it?

Edward Price said, “We see this merger as a significant event that creates the single most capable and effective supplier to the gaming industry. Advantech is undoubtedly the most successful industrial PC Company with phenomenal strengths in R&D, manufacturing, and worldwide sales. Innocore, with its specialist industry knowledge, will bring those strengths to the gaming industry.

According to company officials, Advantech is committed to ensure continuous satisfaction of Innocore’s existing customers, which will be the highest priority for Advantech-Innocore.