LSI Corp. has added a new Power PC processor and fast embedded DRAM cores to its library, claiming demand for custom silicon is on the rise in its core networking and storage markets. The company also is leveraging a 10 Gbit Ethernet core licensed from startup Teranetics and 40 and 28nm process technology from foundry partner TSMC to ride the 10G Ethernet transition.

LSI announced in September it helped IBM Corp. developed the multicore PowerPC 476FP. A four-core version running at up to 1.6 GHz is now available from LSI in TSMC’s 40nm process.

“This will be big for us and broadly applicable to storage and networking,” said Sudhakar Sabada, general manager of LSI’s custom silicon division. “Lots of people have written networking operating systems on PowerPC” including Cisco Systems’ IOS, he added.

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