|
The hardware code for Sun's latest chip is to be
released to the world, as the server and software firm works to get
Linux running on it
In a bid to increase the relevance of its processor line, Sun pledged
on Tuesday to make the underlying designs of its new UltraSparc T1 an
open source project.
The hardware code for Sun's latest chip is to be
released to the world, as the server and software firm works to get
Linux running on it In a bid to increase the relevance of its processor line, Sun pledged
on Tuesday to make the underlying designs of its new UltraSparc T1 an
open source project.
The Sparc chip specifications have been available for years to those
who pay a fee to licensing organization Sparc International. But now
Sun plans to release not just the specifications, but also the design
itself, written in the Verilog hardware description language, and an
accompanying verification suite and simulation models.
Sun plans to release the information through a new group called
OpenSparc in the first quarter of 2006 and will use a licence approved
by the Open Source Initiative, the company said during Tuesday's launch
of the ambitious T1-based T1000 and T2000 servers.
Releasing the UltraSparc T1 details move is likely to appeal chiefly to
academia, said Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood. "I really think it
may appeal to some researchers. It's really hard for me to imagine that
a serious manufacturer would go off and make a product out of it," he
said.
The abstract Verilog description is still a long way from a complete
hardware design, Brookwood added. "It's about halfway between the point
when you design something and you hand it off to the foundry,'" he said.
The UltraSparc T1, code-named Niagara, is a major part of Sun's effort
to restore waning enthusiasm for the company's Sparc line, which has
lost market share to Power chips from IBM and x86 chips from Intel and
AMD in recent years.
The open source chip move is the latest step in Sun's effort to leave
behind its reputation for being closed and proprietary. Sun took
another step a week ago when it declared that all its software would
become free and open source all except the core Java software, that
is.
Sparc chips are used chiefly in servers from Sun and Fujitsu, though
they are also used occasionally in other products such as Scientific
Atlanta's Explorer 8000 set-top box or Olympus' D-300 Zoom digital
camera. However, Sparc hasn't come close to the ubiquity of chip
families such as ARM or x86.
The most direct competitor, though, is IBM's Power family. IBM has
several significant licensees, including Freescale Semiconductor and
P.A. Semi, and Big Blue is trying to promote wider use through its
Power.org licensing programme.
Sun hopes the OpenSparc effort will lead to widespread use of the chip
a move that could benefit Sun. The company sells support for the
Solaris operating system, which is the only real option for use with
the chip today. But that could change in the long run: Sun, taking
another page from the IBM playbook, said Tuesday it's "actively working
with the open source community to bring Linux and FreeBSD to the
UltraSparc T1 platform."
Sun has high hopes for the move. "The program will yield more
collaboration and cooperation around hardware design and is expected to
help drive down the costs of implementing the design in different
technologies while enabling bold new products to be brought to market,"
the company said in a press release.
Even if it falls short of those goals, OpenSparc will give Sun
marketing fodder to knock Intel and IBM, while promoting its "sharing"
agenda. And as with releasing its software for free, it's unlikely to
come with a financial penalty.
"They see it as unlikely to have much downside," Brookwood said. "The
upside is also unclear, but it's not going to cost them much to do it."
Read original article at: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/chips/0,39020354,39240593,00.htm
|
Get Informed 
