6Wind software supports Intel Xeon processors

Using the 6Windgate software, system developers increase the packet-processing performance of their networking, telecommunications and security products by up to 10 times compared to a standard Linux implementation.

When compared to an implementation based on a standard Linux networking stack, systems using 6Windgate configured with the 6Windgate SDS profile will achieve a sevenfold performance improvement on a four-core Intel Xeon processor EC5549 platform and a tenfold performance improvement on a six-core Intel Xeon processor E5645 platform.

The 6Windgate SDS profile is optimised for platforms in which the networking Fast Path runs on dedicated cores without the overhead of a Linux-based Slow Path.

6Windgate's architecture removes the complexity of integrating high-performance packet processing with the Linux environment, because it fully synchronises the Fast Path and Linux while preserving Linux APIs.

It includes complete Layer 2 through Layer 4 embedded networking features (routing, IPsec, firewall, QoS, NAT, multicast), reducing development time by as much as 70 per cent.

6Windgate also maximises software reuse, so that legacy applications previously running on single-core architectures can quickly migrate to multicore architectures while achieving maximum performance.

6Wind's environment incorporates an XML-based management interface that eases the integration of networking applications and customers' value-added features.

6Windgate will be available with full 6Windgate SDS profile support for Intel Xeon processor EC5549 and Intel Xeon processor E5645 in mid-2010.

An early release is available now, configured with the 6Windgate EDS profile (optimised for platforms in which the Fast Path runs as a Linux kernel module).

Customers are able to start their software development now using the 6Windgate EDS-based release, then migrate to the 6Windgate SDS version later with no changes to their application software.