Solutions address dynamic workloads in data centres

The acquisition will enable Xilinx to combine its FPGA, MPSoC and ACAP solutions with Solarflare’s ultra-low latency network interface card (NIC) technology and Onload application acceleration software, to enable new converged SmartNIC solutions, accelerating Xilinx’s ‘data centre first’ strategy and transition to a platform company. 

Xilinx and Solarflare have been collaborating on advanced networking technology for the last two years, with Xilinx becoming a strategic investor in 2017. The two companies recently demonstrated their first joint solution, a single-chip FPGA-based 100G SmartNIC, processing 100 million packets per-second receive and transmit, all at less than 75W.

“The Solarflare team has worked very closely with Xilinx on next-generation networking technology and business collaboration since Xilinx became a strategic investor,” said Russell Stern, Chief Executive Officer, Solarflare. “Our shared vision for the future of data centre and cloud computing and the integration of our respective technologies makes this acquisition the ideal next step for our customers, employees, and investors, as well as the broader data centre industry.” 

Salil Raje, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Data Centre Group, Xilinx, added: “Solarflare has been a pioneer in key areas such as high-speed Ethernet, application acceleration, and NVMe-over-fabrics, which are the critical components needed to build the next generation of SmartNICs for cloud and enterprise technologies. 

“Acquiring Solarflare brings Xilinx both market-leading technology and exceptional engineering talent with expertise in networking hardware, software, firmware and drivers. We are very excited about the possibilities with Solarflare as part of the Xilinx family to enable the adaptable, intelligent world.”

The acquisition is expected to close in Xilinx’s second quarter of fiscal year 2020, following customary closing conditions and regulatory review.