David Katz et al.
Analog Devices

The age of voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) is here, bringing together telephony and data communications to provide packetized voice and fax data streamed over low-cost Internet links. The transition from circuit-switched to packet-switched networking, happening at breakneck speed, is encouraging applications that go far beyond simple voice transmission, embracing other forms of data and allowing them to travel over the same infrastructure.

The VoIP challenge to the embedded system designer is to choose a processing solution that is cost-effective, easy to deploy, and scalable in performance across market spaces. A favorite embedded solution approach is to design with a platform that can implement a low-channel-count basic VoIP solution, yet retain plenty of capacity for value-added capabilities and services, such as video, music, imaging, and system control. This paper introduces the Blackfin processor family from Analog Devices, which offers just such a solution.