Network Processor Overview

Major semiconductor manufacturers are starting to sell a new type of integrated circuit, the network processor. Network processors are programmable chips like general purpose microprocessors, but are optimized for the packet processing required in network devices.

Network devices are a growing class of embedded system and include traditional Internet equipment like routers, switches, and firewalls; newer devices like Voice over IP (VoIP) bridges, virtual private network (VPN) gateways, and quality of service (QOS) enforcers; and web-specific devices like caching engines, load balancers, and SSL accelerators.