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Linux Ported To Multi-Core DSP

Posted by timothy on from the catching-up-to-netbsd dept.

prostoalex writes "UK-based Imagination Technologies announced the first port of Linux to multi-threaded DSP architecture. The port is done for Imagination's META core that it licenses out to those needing a generic DSP architecture. According to the company, 'META can run Linux on one hardware thread while running real-time DSP tasks on the other threads. META can also re-allocate MIPS on the fly so that each thread can be delivered the guaranteed share of processing resource and response time that it needs, while never clocking the processor faster than is required.'"

2 of 14 comments (clear)

  1. Nice. by torpor · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Just last week I was discussing the potential for a Linux port to DSP architectures with the powers that be here at Access.

    This META port will give us some seriously interesting things to look at in the coming weeks, anyway. Too bad we can't get a Moto56k port of the Linux kernel, heh heh ...

    Still, it remains to be seen how useful the META will be in our market (pro audio/synthesizers) ... but I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Linux and DSP work ...

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  2. DAAAAMN! HOT DAMN! by wowbagger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Now this is something a veteran embedded software engineer can really get excited about!

    Most wireless systems are becoming little more than a means of shoving TCP/IP packets over the air, with voice crammed in the cracks. As a result, you need hard realtime processing, but you also need UI, protocol stack, and layer 7 (applications). And while a big box can get away with multiple processors, a phone cannot.

    Having a hardware partitioned, hard realtime PLUS Linux system WITH full virtual memory (not uCLinux without virtual memory) is VERY compelling for an embedded developer.

    Of course, this trend has been going on for some time - Xilinx with their 2 or 4 PowerPC-core Vertex 2Pro FPGAs, the various Strongarm/DSP, PowerPC/DSP and MIPS/DSP hybrid chips from Motorola et. al., plus things like the K.U. Realtime extensions and Monte Vista kernels.

    I definitely will be keeping an eye on this at work....

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