THE CUTTING EDGE/TECHNOLOGY NEWS : Intel and IBM Unveil Network Processors

IBM Corp. and Intel Corp. unveiled processors Wednesday that put the two high-tech giants on a collision course in the burgeoning computer-networking market.

IBM and Intel both announced network processors, chips used in routers and switches that control data traffic on the Internet. The general-purpose chips are key weapons in the two companies’ efforts to upend Broadcom Corp., Analog Devices Inc. and others that dominate the market for networking chips with higher-priced custom designs.

Intel said it will spend $200 million to help companies incorporate its chips into their designs, and IBM laid plans for a new research center that will concentrate on technologies for network communications components.

The $42-billion market for computer-networking devices has become one of the most competitive arenas in the technology industry. IBM has focused its efforts on becoming a leading supplier of components for the market, after selling the bulk of its networking hardware business to Cisco Systems Inc. in a $2-billion deal announced Tuesday.