Research Opportunities are "wide open" with OpenSPARC
Sun has announced a major step forward in the future of microprocessors with the open sourcing of Sun's newest, and the industry's most advanced, multi-threaded 64bit & 32 thread commercial microprocessor. The opportunities that OpenSPARC can enable are wide open for you.
This chip is based our UltraSPARC T1 (often know by its pre-release name "Niagara"). The UltraSPARC T1 is the heart of our newest server line: the Sun Fire T1000 and Sun Fire T2000 servers.
Higher throughput, less heat, conserves power, and saves space, all at the same time? CoolThreads Technology. These new systems enabled us to announce the following world record breaking benchmarks.
Sun is looking forward to enabling researchers around the world to learn why we think multi-threading is the future, and to use this new OpenSPARC technology to advance their own research in this area.
Welcome to the World of Multi-threaded Code!
The specs. and the RTL code are here.
Here's your chance to explore the real thing -- to see first-hand how some smart, dedicated engineers like you designed a 64-bit processor that has higher throughput, conserves power, saves space, and is fast. We call it CoolThreads.
Check out the code, learn from it, and -- here's the challenge for all you researchers -- make it better. We know we've only just begun to apply multi-threaded technology to chip designs; we're expecting you all to show us other solutions and uses.
So dig in -- the opportunities around OpenSPARC are wide open to you. Remember, OpenSPARC is 64 bit, has 32 threads, and the design specs and RTL are free!
Some Research Ideas
Examples of some of the researcher areas being explored with OpenSPARC technology include:
- As a basis for experimental, specialized processor designs — a few quick examples:
- highly threaded, high-bandwidth network processor
- add more FPUs, for highly threaded HPC processing node
- add cryptographic processing elements, for high-bandwidth crypto engine
- add co-processors for specialized functions
- research into optimizing useful work done per watt of power consumed (efficiency)
- computer architecture research — add/remove instructions, new operating modes
- port tools to other hardware and/or OS platforms (x86/x64, Linux, others)
- Platform for compiler research for chip multi-threaded (CMT) target processors
- Starting point for lab courses — a known-good design that can be modified for lab projects in computer architecture or VLSI design courses
- Real-world input to test robustness of CAD tools and simulators developed at university (major industry CAD tool vendors are already doing this)
- Burn derivative processors into FPGAs for quick design iteration or high-speed emulation
- Performance analysis and modeling
- EDA development and optimization for Multicore chips.
- SoftCores for Multicore FPGA implementations.
- Optimizing and developing SW for multi-core systems.
- EDA interests areas like simulation/acceleration, formal verification, place and route , algorithm, testability, modeling in SystemVerilog, SystemC
- Developing multi-threaded EDA tools
- Trigger spin-off/start-up ventures?
Be part of the Research!
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