IBM event heralds Linux-like model for Power processor

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Apr. 01, 2004

IBM today held an event in New York called "Power Everywhere," at which it announced its plans to cultivate an open-source-like development ecosystem around its Power processor intellectual property. New IBM programs will reward companies, partners, and researchers who embed Power cores in system-on-chips (SoCs) targeting a variety of applications.

Additionally, IBM says it will give away chip design tools for its Power cores, explore an "open governance model" for future Power Architectures, and permit third-party foundries to manufacture Power chips.

Power is not the first core technology marketed with open source software philosophies and practices. The MIPS core is an open standard sometimes likened to Linux.

IBM also announced that consumer electronics giant Sony has licensed its Power Architecture, with plans to optimize it for a wide range of consumer devices. Sony, IBM, and Toshiba previously announced their collaboration on a multi-core "Cell" processor targeting gaming devices.

Additional Power licensees include:

L-3 Communications is working with IBM on ways to leverage Power Architecture designs in defense, aerospace, and homeland security applications.
The Global Brands Manufacture Group, based in China, is exploring the Power Architecture for desktop and notebook computers, DVD players. and digital cameras.

Additionally, at the Power Everywhere event, IBM demonstrated eServer BladeCenter JS20, calling it the "first blade system based on Power Architecture." The Medical College of Wisconsin plans to use the device for proteomics research, while University of Oregon Neuroinformatics Center will use it along with grid technology to diagnose and treat brain-related conditions.

IBM also demonstrated a compact "BlueGene" supercomputer with 64 processors.

New community support for users

In support of its efforts to establish a Linux-like collaborative development "ecosystem" around the Power Architecture, IBM also announced:

A community portal
A freely downloadable Power Architecture Pack evaluation kit that lets engineers simulate a system-on-chip design based on their own intellectual property coupled with a Power processor
IBM will establish worldwide Power Architecture Centers to provide customer design assistance for Power chips, cards and systems. (Initially this support will be available from IBM design engineers with an intent to add third party expertise through a certification process.)
A free toolsuite including a graphical interface for chip designers, an optimized package design tool, and a verification tool.

IBM hopes its efforts to open up Power development will enable electronics-makers to add computer intelligence to a wider array of products by enabling them to build exactly the chip they need.

Senior VP Nick Donofrio said, "Power was designed from the ground up for massive scalability, and is the most customized processor in the world. The time is right to establish it as a more open, modular and pervasive platform, accelerating the creation of next generation devices, systems and applications."

LinuxDevices.com's annual survey for 2004 suggested that PowerPC is the third most popular embedded architecture, behind ARM and x86.

Additional information about the Power event and IBM's evolving Power strategy are available on IBM's Website.

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