Further expanding its reach into the software-defined data center, semiconductor maker Broadcom has announced a new Gigabit Ethernet Controller that extends network programmability to storage and server infrastructure.

The Broadcom BCM5725 is a high-performance controller that packs an array of advanced system functions, including automatic device and software discovery, update management and a set of utilities for regulating energy consumption. These features are delivered via TrueManage, a homegrown technology that integrates open client manageability standards to reduce administrative overhead. The software, which also provides user management and alerting capabilities, makes the BCM5725 well suited for use in hyperscale environments that have to be flexible and still retain a minimal physical footprint.

“Broadcom is delivering cost-effective, open and standards-based system management technologies to support emerging trends such as cloud computing,” said Greg Scherer, Broadcom’s vice president of server and storage strategy. “We are enabling a new class of networking products, such as Open Compute Project AMD Open 3.0 Modular Server, through our advanced Ethernet controllers with enhanced manageability and features.”

Broadcom’s latest product announcement follows the launch of Cisco’s Network Convergence System, a unified fabric pitched as a “central nervous system” for software-defined data centers. The platform consolidates individual network components into a distributed architecture capable of supporting millions of connected devices.

Cisco forecasts that the burgeoning Internet of Things will grow to 18.9 billion network connections by the year 2016, generating an estimated 150 petabytes per hour. That’s the equivalent of 278 million people streaming a high-definition movie simultaneously.

To accommodate this growth, the NCS provides enough transport capacity to download the entire Netflix library in less than one second. The system is powered by the nPower X, a highly scalable network processor that can be reprogrammed on the fly.