News sizzling off the wire is that Rivet Networks, the corporate behind the Killer vary of accelerated networking merchandise and evaluation instruments, is being acquired by Intel. The two firms have been working very intently of late, utilizing a unified silicon technique for the most recent gigabit Ethernet networking silicon and likewise Wi-Fi 6 add-in playing cards and CNVi CRF modules for laptops. This new acquisition for Intel will allow a component of Ethernet site visitors monitoring and optimization the portfolio has not had earlier than, however will probably be attention-grabbing to see how Intel palms the acquisition in comparison with when Qualcomm Atheros acquired Rivet Networks some years in the past.
Loads of expertise savvy customers which were round some time know in regards to the Killer model of networking merchandise. The firm initially burst onto the scene with an FPGA and a giant heavy Ok heatsink seeking to provide decrease PC-to-Internet latencies, particularly in video games. Over time that FPGA grew to become its personal ASIC and gigabit Ethernet controller, and the corporate moved extra into the power to transparently detect and form networking site visitors, permitting high-priority site visitors to move by way of with the bottom latency, however downloads and streaming to get the bottom latency. Users had been capable of configure their community, in addition to direct site visitors by way of totally different networking interfaces if two Killer merchandise had been supported.
The authentic Bigfoot Killer NIC in 2006
The firm initially began as Bigfoot Networks, and got here to market with the Killer NIC in 2006. Qualcomm’s Atheros division, targeted on networking, acquired the corporate in September 2011. The acquisition with Qualcomm gave loads of entry to Qualcomm’s ASIC constructing capabilities, bringing the facility of the NIC down from an FPGA but additionally rising the aptitude of the {hardware} and software program. However, after a number of years of no product growth or generational iterations, the unique founders and engineers of the corporate spun again out of Qualcomm to kind Rivet Networks, in an effort to construct the Killer branding as soon as once more. Originally working with Qualcomm’s Atheros silicon, Rivet Networks began partnering with Intel and Realtek on numerous components providing a regular model beneath the conventional model or the Killer model with further community detection and shaping capabilities. This led to a resurgence within the capabilities of the {hardware}, with Dell, MSI, GIGABYTE, ASRock, and different OEMs changing into clients.
The Rivet Networks Killer AX1650, already constructed on Intel AX200 Silicon
When we noticed a Killer NIC within the Dell XPS, the corporate had really made it. Dell’s enterprise machines additionally acquired entry to SmartByte, a particular app detection algorithm for Dell end-users and enterprise clients. Rivet Networks have additionally developed quite a few applied sciences to its portfolio, together with supporting switch-like mechanics for multi-controller methods, or Wi-Fi extension companies by way of time-muxing the Wi-Fi modem.
All these applied sciences will now fall beneath the Intel umbrella. The Rivet Networks crew will be a part of Intel’s Wireless Solutions Group inside the Client Computing Group. Given that the 2 teams have been working very intently with the AX201 and Killer AX1650 networking chips lately, which beneath each use Intel silicon, will probably be attention-grabbing to see the place all of it goes from right here. I do know of quite a few plans that the Rivet crew had been working in the direction of, a few of them could be very useful to the buyer market, so I hope that Intel retains the identical ardour alive.
This information remains to be breaking, we’ll replace as we get extra info
I had an on-the-record name with the Rivet Networks crew and Intel, with a lot of attention-grabbing info. While the worth of the acquisition shouldn’t be being disclosed, talks began in earnest on the…
