Qualcomm releases Snapdragon socs for network equipment

Qualcomm has announced a new series of processors dedicated to networking equipment. The first two socs with model numbers IPQ8062 and IPQ8064 should be available early next year.

The new socs are similar in components to the Snapdragons for mobile phones and were announced at an annual meeting, so reports Venture beat. Qualcomm has equipped the new IPQ series with two Krait cores with a clock speed of 1.4GHz. The processors are baked at 28nm and, according to Qualcomm, offer 70 percent better performance per watt compared to the competition, although no precise figures have been released.

According to Qualcomm, the new IPQ series is specifically intended for network equipment. The socs therefore come from the stable of Atheros, a network applications company that was previously acquired by Qualcomm. The chipmaker claims that the socs should improve throughput in networks; most networks would lack processing power, according to Qualcomm. With the IPQ-socs throughput speeds of up to 5gbit/s would be possible.

The first two models in the IPQ series should become available in products in the first half of next year. It is unclear which manufacturers are interested in the socs.