Cisco chip exec sees steady ASIC investments

Rick Merritt, EETimes
9/27/2012 9:28 AM EDT

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Competitors of Cisco Systems have been talking smack lately, claiming the router giant is increasingly turning to off-the-shelf chips instead of building its own ASICs. Not so, says one of the router and switch giants top silicon honchos in an exclusive interview with EE Times.

“Our investments [in ASICs] have been and continue to be large,” said Dan Lenoski who manages a team of about 125 of Cisco’s 750 chip designers. “That investment has been steady and increased since in 2000 because communications interfaces are getting faster,” Lenoski explained.