Intel, of course, is a key player in most aspects of HA computing, particularly in the ATCA initiative (see writeup of Force Computers for news of an ATCA demo with Intel at Telecom World Geneva). They make a full range of SBCs, backplane network switches and other componentry.
Their Dialogic business unit (of course) also makes every conceivable variation on the theme of "telecom boards," from low-density multifunction and station-interface cards, to the highest density CPCI and H.110 products (there's a wonderful chart with links to every Intel/Dialogic telecom product, at the URL www.intel.com/design/network/products/telecom/index.htm).
At this precise moment, Intel's attention seems drawn at least four ways as regards telecom/carrier markets. The evolution of ATCA is clearly a big deal, because it promises to be a "final solution" for getting Intel hardware into carrier COs and POPs - answering carriers' needs for high availability, cheap maintainability, ease of configuration/reconfiguration, and high throughput.
Mobility is clearly another big thrust. Intel's Mobile processors with XScale technology are optimized for full-speed operation and low-power dissipation - processors in this series are applicable across the board, from cell phones, PDAs and laptops (where low power equals long battery life) to high-density SBCs and multiprocessor "CPU farm" implementations for network and host media processing (where low power equals lower cooling requirements and better runtime on backup power supplies).
Host media processing - where CPUs, instead of DSPs, bear the brunt of workload - is another area in which Intel is fast moving to capitalize. As noted elsewhere in this feature, they offer a complete host media processing system that presents exactly like an Intel/Dialogic DM3-series board.
