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ewertz2
I thought that the current Cortex-A ISA supported 40-bit physical under 32-bit ...
glennthera
Thanx 4 d info Peter! New processor cores n newer tech. is ALWAYS welcome! ...
ARM tips 64-bit 'big-little' processors, partners
Peter Clarke
10/30/2012 4:53 PM EDT
From servers to mobile clients
Segars stressed that the ARMv8 instruction set architecture also supports both the Aarch64 mode and an Aarch32 mode. The later provides compatibility with the 32-bit ARMv7 instruction set.
ARM also is betting that security features will grow in importance across the range of applications it expects A57 and A53 to address. "TrustZone security features are present in ARMv7 and they have been carried forward in ARMv8. We have added instructions [in ARMv8] that will provide 10 times the encryption performance," said Greenhalgh.
Segars added that while the need for 64-bit data and addressing may not yet be present in mobile client devices, ARM's partners are pressing for the capability as part of preparation for a changeover from 32- to 64-bit processing. "That change is more rapid in enterprise applications and somewhat slower in mobile," he said.
The overwhelming need for more memory is only growing. ARM's software partners are supporting the requirement with an announcement from Redhat and the fact that a 64-bit Linux kernel is available to developers, Segars said.
As expected, the A57 and A53 make use of the CCN-504 cache coherency networking IP and Amba bus interfaces licensed by ARM. It is compatible with ARM's Mali graphics IP.
ARM expects to have processor silicon in house sometime as early as mid-2013. "Although ARM partners will usually beat to us to silicon," Greenhalgh added.
Related links and articles:
AMD to ship ARM-based server SoCs in 2014
Red Hat joins Applied in ARM server drive
ARM, Mali and making it real
Segars stressed that the ARMv8 instruction set architecture also supports both the Aarch64 mode and an Aarch32 mode. The later provides compatibility with the 32-bit ARMv7 instruction set.
ARM also is betting that security features will grow in importance across the range of applications it expects A57 and A53 to address. "TrustZone security features are present in ARMv7 and they have been carried forward in ARMv8. We have added instructions [in ARMv8] that will provide 10 times the encryption performance," said Greenhalgh.
Segars added that while the need for 64-bit data and addressing may not yet be present in mobile client devices, ARM's partners are pressing for the capability as part of preparation for a changeover from 32- to 64-bit processing. "That change is more rapid in enterprise applications and somewhat slower in mobile," he said.
The overwhelming need for more memory is only growing. ARM's software partners are supporting the requirement with an announcement from Redhat and the fact that a 64-bit Linux kernel is available to developers, Segars said.
As expected, the A57 and A53 make use of the CCN-504 cache coherency networking IP and Amba bus interfaces licensed by ARM. It is compatible with ARM's Mali graphics IP.
ARM expects to have processor silicon in house sometime as early as mid-2013. "Although ARM partners will usually beat to us to silicon," Greenhalgh added.
Related links and articles:
AMD to ship ARM-based server SoCs in 2014
Red Hat joins Applied in ARM server drive
ARM, Mali and making it real
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digital_dreamer
10/30/2012 5:27 PM EDT
Anyone know what the roadmap is for ARM Cortex? I'm more interested in what's in store for a Cortex M0/M3/M4 update in the embedded space, not smartphone/tablet CPUs.
MAJ
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peter.clarke
10/30/2012 6:57 PM EDT
I am meeting someone from embedded side of business tomorrow so I'll ask. But I don't think ARM has any announcements scheduled so probably won't say much.
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rick.merritt
10/30/2012 10:33 PM EDT
I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts about how initially mobile developers might try to use this 64-bit capability.
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glennthera
10/31/2012 12:00 AM EDT
Does anyone have any clues about Samsung's big.Little based Cortex A15/A7 chips which were supposed to be announced at ARM Tech Con? It's long overdue from Samsung n many of us r left wondering when the 1st big.Little SOCs from Samsung r gonna be delivered n move into the sphere of mass availability? Thx for any info!
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rick.merritt
11/1/2012 11:21 AM EDT
At Samsung's keynote, the chip exec talked about its dual core Exynos 5, presumably with an A15 and A7 made in a 32 nm HKMG process.
It uses ARM Mali T604 graphics core supporting OpenCL.
The SoC is in the new Google Chromebook and Galaxy 10 Tab amd a Quanta ultra thin ODM tablet design.
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rick.merritt
11/1/2012 2:22 PM EDT
Correction:
Samsung's Exynos 5 dual uses two A15 cores.
ARM says the first big/little SoCs won't be ready until early next year. Some of the sw for it is still in development though early test results are promising.
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glennthera
10/31/2012 12:07 AM EDT
All we seem to be getting at present r future projections of more advanced chips (read Cortex A57-A53)which r still a good year n half away but v r yet to get any practical implementations of the 1st gen Cortex A15-A7 big.Little chips which hav been long announced!
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rick.merritt
11/1/2012 11:22 AM EDT
See above re the Dual Exynos 5 from Samsung.
Not many tech or preformance details but the chip is out.
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tb1
10/31/2012 6:46 PM EDT
"I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts about how initially mobile developers might try to use this 64-bit capability."
Smartphones already have 2G of DRAM. And there is a lot of feature growth (and bloat) with every new generation. It won't be long before that memory doubles, and then you've exceeded your 32 bit processor memory space.
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ewertz2
11/3/2012 11:41 AM EDT
I thought that the current Cortex-A ISA supported 40-bit physical under 32-bit virtual addressing, but I could be wrong since I'm more of an -M guy.
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help.fulguy
11/2/2012 12:57 AM EDT
Good luck putting Exynos5 as it is at 1.5GHz in a smartphone. The battery will last 2 hours. Rick, I thought you are smarter than what you are saying here. Putting A57 in a mobile phone. Good luck. Why not put AMD Trinity into a phone, then. i think your gray hair is covering your brain from working or may be you are too old for this
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glennthera
11/2/2012 4:31 AM EDT
Yep i wud 2nd that notion! D current drastic improvements in processing power mean little or nothng wthout commensurate improvements in power efficiency n battery life! All the smartphone n handheld device specs these days r getting bloated without any1 focusing proper attention on d most basic thing wich runs it all- the battery! ARM seems 2 hav at least partially addressed the problem with their big.Little approach but we're yet to see any real chip implementation of a big.Little part for the 1st generation n v alrdy hav an announcement of 2nd gen big.Little processors! Somethng dsnt add up here! ARM n Samsung where r d 1st gen big.Little SOCs featuring Cortex A15-A7 pairs???
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peter.clarke
11/2/2012 12:42 PM EDT
Part of the issue is that:
because ARM is developing IP for licensing to semiconductor partners it has to be a couple of years ahead of those semiconductor partners.
When ARM announced Cortex-A7 and the big-little approach in Oct. 2011 the company said tape-outs including the Cortex-A7 were expected 1H12 with SoCs and products based on them to follow in 2013, East said.
Seems like ARM and partners are not late on that timetable...yet!
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glennthera
11/3/2012 12:43 AM EDT
Thanx 4 d info Peter! New processor cores n newer tech. is ALWAYS welcome! However, I believe Samsung were supposed 2 announce their 1st big.Little chips at this ARM TechCon! Any news about that yet?
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