Marvell Reveals Low Power Quad-Core Processor For Clouds

Integrated silicon solutions specialist Marvell has released its quad-core processing cloud computing platform, Armada XP (Extreme Performance).

The Armada XP, an ARM processor, integrates four Marvell-designed ARM-compliant 1.6GHz CPU cores along with a host of I/O peripherals.

The Armada XP is optimised to consume low power at 1.6GHz, delivering power to cloud computing applications ranging from networking and Web servers to home server products like network-attached storage (NAS) and media servers.

Chipset Features

The Armada XP is based on a Marvell-designed ARM v7 MP compatible CPU offering 1.6GHz processing per core performance and delivers 16,600 Dhrystone million instructions per second (DMIPS). It integrates 2MB of Level 2 cache and supports 64-bit DDR3 memory interface with ECC at an 800MHz clock rate and is built on a system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture that combines quad x4 PCI-express (PCI-e) interfaces, multiple USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet ports, SATA ports, security engine and other I/O peripherals.

Key features include “heterogeneous multiprocessing” (SMP/AMP/Mixed) with hardware-based Cache Coherence, up to 16 high-speed Marvell Serdes lanes with multi-functionality (PCI-e, SATA, SGMII, QSGMII), multiple USB ports, low power consumption with advanced power management capabilities and comprehensive development tools. Development platforms are available including software drivers and board support package.

“Marvell’s introduction of a powerful solution for enterprise-class cloud computing applications is a very important milestone in the mobile Internet revolution–cloud computing mobile servers like those powered by the Armada XP are the key link in what I envision to be a seamless, unified ecosystem of mobile connected devices, information appliances and smart ‘furnishings,'” said Weili Dai, co-founder of Marvell. “Marvell’s leadership in mobility, consumer, storage, enterprise networking and WiFi products completes the circuit, delivering a powerful end-to-end total solution to anyone connected to the new global mesh, from consumers to small business and the enterprise.”

Access Points

In October, the company introduced the Avastar 88W8764, an 802.11n, 4×4 single-die solution for enterprise access points, service provider gateways, high-performance home routers, media and mobile servers, digital TVs (DTVs), and set-top boxes (STBs). Marvell’s 802.11n, 4×4 solution (four independent transmit-receive RF chains) supports three multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) spatial streams for up to 450M-bps data rates. The four RF chains offer high-order 802.11n Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) data rates. Additionally, it supports the national Chinese standard for wireless LANs (WAPI), Tunnel Direct Link Setup (TDLS) and Space Time Block Coding (STBC).

“Wi-Fi has become the critical common link in today’s mobile communications as users now expect and demand seamless, high-performance, robust and secure connectivity, zero latency and crystal clear communication between all their connected devices no matter where they go,” said Dai. “Marvell has a proven track record as the world leader in WiFi for enterprise, consumer and mobile applications delivering robust, high performance and high bandwidth, highly secure and seamless wireless connectivity. I believe Marvell’s groundbreaking 802.11n 4×4 Wi-Fi solution will fundamentally change the wireless landscape and truly enable the entire spectrum of always-on consumer products.”