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Open Kernel Labs Blog
September 13, 2010
ARM Cortex-A15: It Takes an Ecosystem
Last week our partner ARM Ltd announced the ARM Cortex-A15 "Eagle", a new mobile processor architecture. This new core, and anticipated Cortex-A15 processors from Freescale, Qualcomm, Samsung, ST-E TI and other leading semiconductor suppliers, will deliver five times the performance of today's smartphone processors and open the doors to a range of new applications, including ARM-based servers.
Silicon is very sexy. When we think about the computers on our desk and the phones in our pockets, we tend to forget about all the other elements that contribute to user experience. Even further from most users' minds is the complex path to market for a new technology, and the stops along the way.
In a previous blog (OK Labs, ST-Ericsson, and the Mobile/Wireless Ecosystem) I laid out the mobile/wireless players and touchpoints among them. The ARM Cortex-A15 follows the same path outlined there, going from ARM IP to architecture licensing to semiconductor foundry to device manufacturer to operator fleet, and into the hands of mobile users (and into other consumer goods, and likely data center devices too). The software that makes smartphones smart and server blades serviceable accompanies silicon IP to market in lockstep, first with low-level OS kernel code, then applications platforms like Android, Linux, and Symbian, and then pre-load and shrink-wrap software and app store downloads.
Underlying this seemingly linear progression from processor IP to handheld user experience is a rich synergy among creators of hardware and software. ARM Cortex-A15, with its multicore foundation, new V7A instruction set, large address space, and hardware-assisted virtualization capability, clearly requires cooperation among ARM and its software partners like OK Labs. In designing its new CPU, creating the Eagle simulator, and progressing towards first silicon, ARM needs working development tools and OSes. Launching ARM Cortex-A15, with its high performance multiple CPU cores and other new capabilities, required close cooperation with partners like OK Labs. Eagle simply will not fly without off-the-shelf mobile virtualization to manage resource and deliver secure and stable devices and services at an optimal price.
In today’s marketplace, with its rapid technology life cycles, new CPUs cannot come to market as abstract intellectual property. Silicon without software is just expensive sand. In its announcement you can see that ARM is keenly aware of how its Connected Community lays down its path to market. And OK Labs, with OKL4 Microvisor technology, is already helping mobile/wireless ecosystem participants build on Cortex-A15 to deliver innovative, exiting, and profitable products.
Posted by Steve Subar on September 13 at 03:48 AM
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About Steve Subar:
Steve Subar, CEO and President of OK Labs, has been an honored leader in the technology industry for 20 plus years and has received several accolades for his work. Steve is an avid runner who can also be found communing with his surfboard in Bondi Beach, Australia; skiing the slopes of Beaver Creek, Colorado; or searching for the perfect Pinot Noir all over the world.