RISC processor takes network security onboard

The SH7710 32bit RISC microprocessor features an IPsec accelerator for fast encryption and communication processing.

The SH7710 32bit RISC microprocessor features an IPsec accelerator for fast encryption and communication processing.

The device also offers two on-chip Ethernet controllers that enable connection to two Ethernet LANs.

Both peripherals make it suitable for security-enabled devices designed for use in networks, such as VPN dedicated boxes, home gateway servers, surveillance cameras and IP phones.

The SH7710 is based on a SuperH RISC SH3-DSP CPU core that operates at speeds of up to 200MHz and achieves a high processing capability of 260MIPS.

The on-chip DSP supports various kinds of middleware, such as a voice codec and echo canceller, and enables fast execution of multimedia related processing such as VoIP.

The IPsec accelerator implements security in the IP or network layer and supports DES and 3DES encryption/decryption methods and MD5 and SHA-1 authentication data generation methods.

In addition to the encryption circuitry, buffer memory and dedicated data transfer DMACs are provided, allowing data transfer directly between external memory and the buffer memory, and between the buffer memory and encryption circuitry, without CPU intervention.

This reduces the CPU load and enables communication processing to be executed at speeds upwards of 20Mbit/s with a VPN configuration (when using 3DES encryption processing).

This enables the SH7710 to support secure broadband devices for enterprise/SOHO use as well as for home use.

The on-chip Ethernet controllers ensure smooth development of an Ethernet connection unit by the user.

The controllers support 10/100Mbit/s Ethernet.

A dedicated Ethernet DMAC reduces the CPU load and enables efficient data transmission/reception control to be carried out.

In addition, the provision of a large FIFO buffer comprising a total of 14Kbyte reduces the occurrence of data overflow, enabling communication efficiency to be improved by decreasing the number of retransmissions.

A function is also provided for automatic transfer of frames between the two Ethernet controllers, enabling Ethernet frames to be transferred without CPU processing.

The SH7710 features a FIFO-equipped serial interface that can be connected directly to a serial codec, enabling the number of parts and system costs to be reduced.

A six-channel general-purpose DMAC is also included that offers powerful support for high-speed data transfer.

Evaluation boards such as the Hitachi ULSI Systems' Solution Engine and Renesas Technology's E10A simple emulator are supported as development environment tools.

In addition, user development of various kinds of protocol stacks is supported by third-party providers.

Samples of the SH7710 are available now.

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