EAST FISHKILL, N.Y. -- IBM today introduced the next member in its family of award-winning network processors. The new IBM PowerNP NP2G is targeted for low-to mid-range networking equipment running at two gigabits per second (Gb/s) and is the highest performing network processor in its class. The device, fully code compatible with other members of the family, achieves up to 5.6 million packets per second (Mpps) of throughput. "IBM's PowerNP is the leader among OC-48 network processors," said Linley Gwennap, principal analyst of The Linley Group. "The new NP2G brings this proven architecture to the OC-12/gigabit space, allowing IBM to compete for a much broader range of design wins."The PowerNP NP2G is designed to fit a broad spectrum of networking applications such as security, enhanced quality of service, voice over IP, load balancing, and encryption in networking equipment such as base stations, access routers, firewalls, and servers. IBM Corp.