FPGAs for SmartNICs

In a recent blog, we talked about the term “SmartNIC” and what they can do. At Accolade Technology we use FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) as the basis for our SmartNICs. FPGAs are semiconductor devices that are based around a matrix of configurable logic blocks connected via programmable interconnects. If you don’t understand what that means, don’t worry, you are not alone.

The name actually tells you all you need to know about FPGAs in terms of why they are valuable. “Field Programmable” is key because that means they can be updated or in other words the code or logic to the semiconductor can be modified at will; even after the product is shipped and out in the field or marketplace. The term “Gate Array” simply means that a programmer (FPGA engineers actually prefer to be called “Designers”) can design the gates or logic in the FPGA to perform whatever action they want. For example, in the case of Accolade ANIC adapters our designers program the device to parse packets in unique and helpful ways such as stripping off unnecessary headers or sorting packets into unique flows.

Today there are two major vendors for FPGAs: Xilinx and Intel (acquired Altera in 2015). Accolade has standardized on Xilinx from day one and in addition to using their FPGAs for Accolade built SmartNICs we also deploy our intellectual property on Xilinx developed Alveo adaptable accelerator cards.

To learn more or just start a conversation please contact us at [email protected].

Host CPU Offload Product Features Summary

wdt_ID Speed 1G 10G 10G 10G 10G/40G 10G/40G 100G 100G 100G
1 Model 4Ku 20ku 40ku 40kq 80ku ATLAS-1100 Service Node ANIC-200KFlex ANIC-100Kq ANIC-200Kq
2 Port/Type 4X1G SFP 2X10G SFP+ 4X10G SFP+ 1X40G QSFP+ 4X10G SFP+ 2X40G QSFP+ 8X10G SFP+ 4x10G SFP+ 1x40G QSFP+ 2x100G QSFP28 2x40G QSFP28 1X100G QSFP28 2X100G QSFP28
3 PCIe Interface Gen3 x8 Gen3 x8 Gen3 x8 Gen3 x8 Gen3 x8 Gen3 x8 Gen3 x16 Gen3 x16 Gen3 x16
4 Dimensions(H x L inches) 4.25 x 6.5   4.25 x 6.25 4.25 x 6.25 4.25 x 6.25 4.25 x 6.25 1.75 x12.28x14 4.25 x 6.5 4.25 x 10.5 4.25 x 10.5
5 Memory 32MB 4G 4G 4G 4G 16/32G 8G 12G 12G
6 Timestamp 5.7 nS 5.7 nS 5.7 nS 5.7 nS 5.7 nS 5.7 nS 4 nS 4 nS 4 nS
7 100% Packet
Capture
8 Gigamon, AristaTimestamp
9 Packet Merging
10 Packet Parsing


About Accolade

Accolade is the technology leader in FPGA-based Host CPU Offload and 100% Packet Capture PCIe NIC’s and Scalable 1U Platforms. Accolade’s line of 1-100GE products enable 100% packet capture, flow classification, flow shunting, deduplication, packet filtering and more. Our customers are global leaders in network monitoring & cybersecurity applications as well as in the network test and measurement, telecom and video stream monitoring markets.

FPGA Acceleration Features

100% Packet Capture | Flow Classification | Flow Shunting | Precise Time Stamping | Packet Merging | Packet Slicing | Packet Parsing | Packet Filtering | Deduplication | Host Packet Buffer | Packet Steering | Direct Memory Access (DMA) | Statistics (RMON1)

Free Product Evaluation

Resolve all your host CPU offload bottlenecks. Share Your Technical Requirements with our FPGA and software experts to tailor the optimal solution. Accolade offers a 60 day free product evaluation for qualified customers to fully test and evaluate our products.