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COM Express Type 7 Basic Size Module with Marvell® OCTEON® 10 CN102 Processor
$9,999.00
- Up to Marvell® OCTEON® 10 CN102 with 8 Arm® Neoverse™ N2 Cores
- 4 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet KR Interface, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
- 5 x PCI Express lanes (GEN 3.0)
- Supporting up to 48 GB DDR5 5600MT/s Memory
- Up to 16 MB cache
- Max. Processor TDP 33W (fanless)
- Standard operating temperature 0~60 °C
33 W
Max. Processor TDP
48 GB
DDR5 5600MT/s Memory with ECC
36.5
SPECint (2017)
5 nm
Process Node
5
PCIe Express Lanes
The CME102 is a standard COM Express Basic module
built on TSMC's 5 nm process and powered by the Marvell OCTEON 10 CN102 processor. It combines eight Arm Neoverse N2 cores with dedicated hardware acceleration engines in a single SoC, functioning as both the control-plane CPU and the data processing unit for white-box switches, routers, gateways, firewalls, SD-WAN appliances and 5G small cells.
Arm-based compute with a separated control and data plane
The architecture separates control-plane software from data-plane forwarding. Eight Arm® Neoverse™ N2 cores run Linux, network operating systems, storage services and routing applications, each with 1 MB of L2 cache and access to up to 16 MB of shared last-level cache. Packet processing and line-rate encryption are handled by dedicated hardware engines rather than the general-purpose cores, so control-plane workloads do not compete with forwarding for CPU cycles. The processor delivers a SPECint rate of 36.5 within this configuration.
Hardware VPP and inline IPsec for wire-speed forwarding
On-chip 4×10GBASE-KR connectivity is paired with a hardware VPP packet engine and inline IPsec/crypto acceleration, so routing, firewall and BNG functions run at wire speed with minimal CPU involvement. This offload model is what distinguishes the CN102 from general-purpose x86 alternatives, where the same functions typically consume general-purpose cores through software stacks such as AES-NI or Intel QAT.
Memory, storage and I/O for embedded carrier boards
The module supports up to 48 GB of DDR5 ECC memory at speeds up to 5600 MT/s in a single 262-pin SODIMM socket. Local boot storage is provided by 64 GB of eMMC (HS200/400) with SPI NOR flash for boot code. I/O includes 4×10GBASE-KR plus 1×GbE Ethernet, up to 5 PCIe Gen3 lanes, 4×USB 3.0/2.0, 1×SATA, 2×UART and 2×I²C, along with 4 GPI/4 GPO for carrier-board integration and a watchdog timer for diagnostics.
Fanless operation within a 33 W envelope
The CN102's 5 nm process allows the module to deliver eight-core throughput within a 33 W TDP, low enough for fanless operation across a 0–60°C operating range. This removes the active cooling that Intel Xeon D-1700-class modules typically require at a comparable core count, reducing chassis complexity and BOM cost in space- and power-constrained edge designs.
Standard form factor for long deployment life
The CME102 uses a 440-pin board-to-board connector (0.5 mm pitch, TE) with a matched heatsink option, keeping it interchangeable with other COM Express Basic Type 7 modules built to the same pinout. Combined with the 0–60°C operating range, this gives designers a stable upgrade path for carrier boards deployed across switches, storage systems, NGFWs, SD-WAN appliances and industrial edge devices without requiring a board redesign.
Measured against Intel Xeon D COM Express modules on process node, power envelope, memory bandwidth and network acceleration.
5 nm Process, Fanless Where x86 Needs a Fan
The CN102’s 5 nm process holds power draw to 33 W, enabling fanless operation across the module’s 0–60°C range. The Xeon D-1527 (14 nm, 35 W) sits at the edge of passive cooling; the Xeon D-1700 series (10 nm, up to 67 W) generally needs active cooling at its higher core counts.
Arm Neoverse N2 Cores vs. x86 Cores
Eight Arm® Neoverse™ N2 cores (Armv9) run Linux, network operating systems and routing applications on the CME102, versus 4C/8T (Broadwell) on the Xeon D-1527 and up to 10C/20T (Ice Lake) on the Xeon D-1700 series. The Xeon D-1700 offers more threads for general-purpose compute; the CN102 instead offloads packet and crypto processing to dedicated hardware engines, freeing its cores for control-plane work alone.
DDR5-5600 vs. DDR4 Memory
The CME102 supports DDR5 ECC at up to 5600 MT/s, compared with DDR4-2133 on the Xeon D-1527 and DDR4-2933 on the Xeon D-1700 series. The higher bandwidth benefits control-plane workloads that move large routing and forwarding tables through memory.
Hardware VPP and Inline IPsec vs. AES-NI/QAT Offload
The CME102 pairs 4×10GBASE-KR Ethernet with a hardware VPP engine and inline IPsec/crypto acceleration on-die. The Xeon D-1527 handles crypto via AES-NI with up to 2×10GbE; the Xeon D-1700 series pairs 4×10G-KR with Intel QAT for offload. Because the CN102’s packet and crypto engines sit outside the CPU pipeline, forwarding stays at wire speed without contending with control-plane software for cycles.
Comparison Table
| Parameter | CME102 (CN102) | Intel Xeon D-1527 | Intel Xeon D-1700 (17xx) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Cores | 8x Neoverse N2 (Armv9) | 4C / 8T · Broadwell | Up to 10C / 20T · Ice Lake |
| Process Node | 5 nm | 14 nm | 10 nm |
| Processor TDP | 33 W · fanless-capable | 35 W | Up to 67 W |
| Memory | DDR5-5600, ECC | DDR4-2133 | DDR4-2933 |
| Integrated 10G Ethernet | 4x 10G-KR + GbE on-die | Up to 2x 10GbE | 4x 10G-KR |
| Packet + Crypto Offload | HW VPP + inline IPsec | AES-NI | Intel QAT |
| Fanless Operation | Yes | Marginal | No |
| COM Express Type 7 Basic Size Module | CM102 COM Express Type 7 Module Datasheet (PDF) |