Jaroslaw J. Sydir

Implementing Voice over AAL2 on a Network Processor

Publisher Summary The flexibility and programmability of next-generation network-processing units (NPU) make them a key component of next-generation telecommunications equipment. NPUs can support a variety of packet-processing applications, with a variety of different requirements. This chapter discusses the special requirements and challenges presented by the Voice over AAL2 (VoAAL2) application. The architecture and design of a VoAAL2 application developed for the Intel IXP2400 processor is described, and the features of an NPU that are required to support this type of application are discussed. With strict quality of service requirements and asynchronous inputs, VoAAL2 can be performed on an NPU. The application is most naturally implemented using an asynchronous programming model. It is found that the IXP2400 naturally supports such a programming model. Support for asynchronous components that span microengines can be improved by adding support for a distributed lock manager.