ve been developed by a few of the leading and most entrenched vendors. However, the field of network processors is extremely fertile and involves more than a few highly active participants. These participants range from global powerhouse corporations, which are mostly captive semiconductor manufacturers and/or communications equipment providers, all the way to small and fabless companies, which are mostly promising startups that often develop exciting tech- nology. The network-processing field is extremely dynamic, but it must be put into the context of the overall economic situation. Because we are discussing technology developed in startup companies, it is prudent to consider the risk and reality of these products. An extremely hostile environment is created when the economic rigors of a highly competitive market where companies struggle for differentiation are coupled with the general sluggish economy following the collapse of the amazing technology craze of the 1990s, which provided entrepreneurs with easy access to venture capital funds. Startup companies in this field now vie for acceptance through design wins and market share while confronting the day-to-day struggle to survive financially. This overall context sketches the background of an extremely competitive industry where the stakes are very high. The natural result will be the time-proven template of markets that sooner or later con- solidate around a few major players. In other words, the market will ultimately only have room for no more than a half dozen significant players. As this chapter is being written, major players with deep pockets and powerful vertically integrated market positions are acquiring some of the startups that we just discussed. Meanwhile, some promis- ing startups, such as Clearwater Networks, simply vanish from the radar screen, having slowly laid off their engineering staff and used up their last pennies of funding. In some of these cases, such as Terago, the ailing companies have actually delivered a cutting-edge product to 