Single-Chip Cloud Computer – Intel on Cloud 48 With New Chip
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This article titled Single-Chip Cloud Computer – Intel on Cloud 48 With New Chip was first published on the Gadget Blog Digitpedia.
Intel has launched a new central processing unit on a postage stamp-sized silicone chip containing 48 processing cores and 1.3 billion transistors, known as the Single-Chip Cloud Computer.
This means the firm has created the equivalent of 12 quad-core processors in a single chip. Theoretically, each processing core on the IA32 processor could run a separate operating system. And this device contains all the resources usually needing several racks in a data centre within a single chip.
There are 24 ’tiles’, each one a dual-core processor with its own router, and together they form a mesh network able to communicate at 256 Gb/s. Each tile can also independently vary the frequency at which the cores operate. The tiles are grouped in fours, with each group able to run at its own voltage.
To reduce power consumption, the tiles can be split into differently sized islands running at separate voltages. The tiles in the mesh network can be varied to function from 25W to a 125W maximum.
The focus of modern competition in CPU production has shifted from processor speed to the number of processors which can be crammed into a single chip. American company Tilera and graphics chip maker Nvidia have already unveiled 100 core and 512-core processors.
Intel’s own 80-core processor from 2007 was less about practical application, and more about proving that it could be done. And the company has hinted that it could eventually fit 100 cores onto one chip.
What sets the SCC apart is the fact that it is based on Intel’s X86 architecture, making it possible for it to function in regular desktop computer systems like Linux and Windows.
Microsoft has already said it would exploit the capability of the SCC in the future, and Windows 7 can manage up to 256-core processors. However, the SCC announcement has sparked fears that Microsoft and other software sellers could become involved in complex per-core licensing, which could make life complicated, not to mention costly.
The microprocessor was produced thanks to research co-led by Intel Labs researchers in India, Germany and the US.
While Intel has not said when the SCC would be made commercially available, researchers and other interested parties will have access to it during the first half of next year, and more details will be announced at San Francisco’s International Solid-State Circuits Conference next February.
Chief Technology Officer at Intel Justin Rattner said: “Over time, I expect these advanced concepts to find their way into mainstream devices”. Can’t wait!
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