The Look-Aside Interface is a

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

interface Interface or interfacing may refer to: Academic journals * ''Interface'' (journal), by the Electrochemical Society * ''Interface, Journal of Applied Linguistics'', now merged with ''ITL International Journal of Applied Linguistics'' * '' Inte ...

that was specified by an interface interoperability agreement produced by the

Network Processing Forum The Network Processing Forum (NPF) is an industry forum that was organized to facilitate and accelerate the development of next-generation networking and telecommunications products based on Network processor, network processing technologies. The ...

. It specifies the method to interface a Network Processing Element (of which an NPU is an example) to a Network Search Element (of which a

CAM Calmodulin (CaM) (an abbreviation for calcium-modulated protein) is a multifunctional intermediate calcium-binding messenger protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells. It is an intracellular target of the secondary messenger Ca2+, and the bin ...

is an example). The interface is used by devices that off-load certain tasks from the network processor. Numerous devices which implement the LA interface have been produced. Companies which have implemented these devices include

Integrated Device Technology Integrated Device Technology, Inc., is an American corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, that designs, manufactures, and markets low-power, high-performance mixed-signal semiconductor solutions for the advanced communications, com ...

and

Cypress Semiconductor Cypress Semiconductor was an American semiconductor design and manufacturing company. It offered NOR flash memories, F-RAM and SRAM Traveo microcontrollers, PSoC programmable system-on-chip solutions, analog and PMIC Power Management ICs, Ca ...

External Reference

NPF LA-1 Interface Interoperability Agreement
Networking hardware Networking standards