MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Cavium Networks, a world leader in security, network services and embedded processor solutions, today announced the NITROX PX Security Processor family with 8 new products targeted at next-generation IP Security (IPsec), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Wireless security applications. The NITROX PX Family addresses requirements for new and essential security algorithms and product interfaces by including hardware acceleration for SHA-2, AES-GCM and KASUMI algorithms, and PCI-Express interface in a single chip. The NITROX PX security processors feature the GigaCipher v2 cores with increased code store and enhanced hardware queuing, which enables richer protocol processing and multi-protocol performance. All products are fully software compatible with Cavium Networks market-leading NITROX family of security processors and are offered with either a PCI-X 64/133 interface that is NITROX family pin-compatible or PCI-Express x4 interface. The NITROX PX Family delivers the industry's most scalable symmetric encryption performance, ranging from 500 Mbps to 2.5 Gbps, and asymmetric performance from 4000 to 17,000 RSA operations per second. Existing customers of Cavium Networks' NITROX Lite products can seamlessly upgrade to the NITROX PX PCI-X version and get the benefits of new algorithms, higher performance and new features. The PCI Express version enables customers to upgrade to new generation motherboards with PCI-Express interfaces. The NITROX PX Security Processors are being adopted by Tier-1 vendors for security and networking appliances, routing, L3+ switching, storage and wireless products. Cavium Networks will present details on the NITROX PX security processor family on Sept 21st at the Linley Group's Embedded Network Security Design Seminar, being held in San Jose, California.

NITROX PX Offload Supports the Latest IPsec and SSL Security Algorithms

Existing secure networking equipment is being upgraded to incorporate new security algorithms that will be deployed in the market by 2008. These new algorithms include SHA-2 and AES-GCM. SHA-2, which consists of the SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512 algorithms, offers increased and robust security protection over the currently deployed SHA-1 algorithm for hashing and digital signature applications. Rapid adoption of SHA-2 is being encouraged by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). AES-GCM is expected to replace the existing 3DES and AES-CTR encryption algorithms used for IPsec VPN applications as it provides an efficient implementation for confidentiality and data origin authenticity. The NITROX PX family offers unmatched hardware acceleration capability for these two algorithms. Additionally, NITROX PX integrates RSA acceleration required for secure session setups with up to 4096-bit key length support.

The NITROX PX Family of Security Processors provides customers with unique features that include:

NITROX PX Includes the Fastest Security Acceleration for Next Gen Mobile Networks

Next-generation CDMA and GSM mobile networking equipment require the KASUMI algorithm and its variants for confidentiality, integrity and encryption, as mandated by the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT-2000). Additionally, performance requirements are increasing rapidly to support the wireless transmission of voice and data at high data rates of 384 kbps -- 2 Mbps per user. The NITROX PX security processors support up to 2.5Gbps of KASUMI performance.

"Upgrading to new encryption and authentication algorithms is critical for new network security equipment," said Bob Wheeler, senior analyst at The Linley Group. "Over the past 5 years, Cavium has gained significant customer adoption for its NITROX security processors and is now a leading supplier with the broadest and most versatile security processor product line. The NITROX PX processors will extend Cavium's leadership by providing Networking OEMs a compatible, scalable and ready-to-use solution with PCI-X and PCI Express connectivity."

Cavium Networks Inc.