| Carrier-Grade Mac OS X, anyone? |
May 01, 2008
 MontaVista Software announced that its Carrier Grade Linux distribution supports P.A. Semi's "PWRficient" dual-core 2GHz PowerPC processor. The news comes only a week after Apple revealed plans to acquire P.A., a fabless semiconductor firm.
P.A. Semi first unveiled its ultra-low-power "PA6T" micro-architecture in late 2005, and started sampling the Linux-friendly PWRficient PA6t-1682M a little over a year later. The unveiling came months after Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel, apparently crushing P.A.'s rumored hopes of being acquired by Apple and becoming its in-house chip design division.
Apple's x86 move left P.A. to pursue PowerPC's other market niches, including telecom infrastructure equipment. There, the PWRficient chips appear to have achieved some success. According to P.A., the PA6T-1682M was alpha-tested by 10 development partners, and attracted 100 initial customers, including the likes of Curtiss-Wright, Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES), Mercury Computer Systems, Performance Technologies, Splitted-Desktop Systems, and Themis Computer.
 Now, with power efficiency and longer battery life gaining ever more importance across server, desktop, and especially mobile device segments -- and P.A.'s chips actually shipping (and selling) -- Apple may have re-thought its estimation of the company's value. P.A. is led by Dan Dobberpuhl (pictured at right), a former VP of broadband processors at Broadcom, and a 20-year veteran of DEC's Alpha chip design team. P.A. says Dobberpuhl also led development of StrongARM and SiByte processors, architectures renowned for power efficiency.
Its pending acquisition suggests that Apple may return to its PowerPC roots, at least with some products. But, given Apple's penchant for not sharing technology with other companies, where will the buy-out leave P.A.'s other customers?
MontaVista, for one, appears bullish, wasting no time in getting out a press release about its readiness to support PWRficient chips. P.A.'s currently shipping parts were clearly designed for telecom applications, so perhaps Apple will not guard the parts too jealously.
Alternatively, perhaps MontaVista too could be acquired by Apple, and put to work developing Carrier Grade Mac OS X? Given MontaVista's formative role in shaping Carrier Grade Linux, the notion may not be as far-fetched as it sounds at first blush. MontaVista calls its CGE product the "most widely-deployed Linux in the carrier grade market." Launched in 2002, CGE a year later became the first distribution to register compatibility with the Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) specification. And today, CGE is "preferred" by seven of the top eight network equipment providers, MontaVista claimed last November when it last updated the product.
Another Carrier Grade vendor supporting P.A.'s chips is Wind River, which had PWRficient ports of both the Linux and VxWorks versions of its Platform for Network Equipment product ready from the start. Wind River's Workbench tools also support the PWRficient chips and their dev board, the vendor has said.
The power-efficient, dual-core PA6t-1682M (pictured top-of-page) is equipped with dual PA6T cores clocked at 2GHz apiece. The chip has a TDP (thermal design power) of 25 Watts -- roughly 3-4 times lower than other similarly equipped processors fabricated on 65 nanometer technology, the company claims. Designed specifically for telecom, according to P.A., the chip also has a programmable SERDES (serializer-deserializer) for flexible interfacing with high-speed communications circuits.
PWRficient PA6t-1682M block diagram
PAEV evaluation board
(Click to enlarge) |
An ATX development board called the PAEV-1682M-001 (pictured at right) is available for the chip. It is said to run Linux, QNX Neutrino, and VxWorks, with additional OS support announcements expected soon. Wind River's Workbench supports the chip under both Linux and VxWorks, says P.A.
As with Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) distributions from Wind River and Performance Technologies, MontaVista Linux CGE 5.0 recently achieved CGL 4.0 registration.
Stated Patrick MacCartee, director of product management at MontaVista, "A combination of MontaVista's expertise in real-time processing and Linux power management with P.A. Semi's cutting-edge high-performance, low-power processors is a winning combination for embedded device developers."
Availability
MontaVista Linux CGE for the PA6T-1682M PWRficient processor is available now, says the company.
Related Stories:
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
FUEL Database on MontaVista Linux
Whether building a mobile handset, a car navigation system, a package tracking device, or a home entertainment console, developers need capable software systems, including an operating system, development tools, and supporting libraries, to gain maximum benefit from their hardware platform and to meet aggressive time-to-market goals.
Breaking New Ground: The Evolution of Linux Clustering
With a platform comprising a complete Linux distribution, enhanced for clustering, and tailored for HPC, Penguin Computing¿s Scyld Software provides the building blocks for organizations from enterprises to workgroups to deploy, manage, and maintain Linux clusters, regardless of their size.
Data Monitoring with NightStar LX
Unlike ordinary debuggers, NightStar LX doesn¿t leave you stranded in the dark. It¿s more than just a debugger, it¿s a whole suite of integrated diagnostic tools designed for time-critical Linux applications to reduce test time, increase productivity and lower costs. You can debug, monitor, analyze and tune with minimal intrusion, so you see real execution behavior. And that¿s positively illuminating.
Virtualizing Service Provider Networks with Vyatta
This paper highlights Vyatta's unique ability to virtualize networking functions using Vyatta's secure routing software in service provider environments.
High Availability Messaging Solution Using AXIGEN, Heartbeat and DRBD
This white paper discusses a high-availability messaging solution relying on the AXIGEN Mail Server, Heartbeat and DRBD. Solution architecture and implementation, as well as benefits of using AXIGEN for this setup are all presented in detail.
Understanding the Financial Benefits of Open Source
Will open source pay off? Open source is becoming standard within enterprises, often because of cost savings. Find out how much of a financial impact it can have on your organization. Get this methodology and calculator now, compliments of JBoss.
Embedded Hardware and OS Technology Empower PC-Based Platforms
The modern embedded computer is the jack of all trades appearing in many forms.
Data Management for Real-Time Distributed Systems
This paper provides an overview of the network-centric computing model, data distribution services, and distributed data management. It then describes how the SkyBoard integration and synchronization service, coupled with an implementation of the OMG¿s Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard, can be used to create an efficient data distribution, storage, and retrieval system.
7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.
|
|
|
|
|
news feed