http://www.dev-monkey.com/articles/all_articles.php?art_id=1655

Intel, Wind River expand multicore efforts

By Loring Wirbel, Contributing Editor

 

Intel Corp. and Wind River  Inc. have expanded tool development for multicore extensions of VxWorks and Linux, specifically aimed at embedded applications.  The development pact covers symmetric multiprocessing support for Intel Core 2 and Xeon processors, and customer-specific asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP) support for Core 2.  The two companies also used the venue of Embedded World conference in Nuremberg to show off a new hypervisor for Intel Atom.

Jonathan Walsh, general manager and group director of software engineering for Intel's embedded and communication group, said that the effort is a direct result of embedded customers of both Intel and Wind River asking for more multicore tools.  Developers look to SMP optimization to speed performance, and AMP optimization to better parcel out tasks across cores.  When asked if AMP improvements could lead to a scenario where Intel Architecture replaces hybrid control-plane/datapath processors from the likes of Broadcom and Cavium, Walsh said he wouldn't comment on competitors, but that "it's relevant to note that I used to be in charge of network processor architectures at Intel.  Taking advantage of multicore performance can certainly place Core 2 and Xeon in NPU applications."

The pact also includes work on support of the Wind River Workbench and On-Chip Debugging development suite for Core 2 and Atom.  Wind River chief marketing officer John Bruggeman said that customers in high performance embedded realms like aerospace and medical imaging were particularly interested in using Intel's Virtualization Technology for data-center applications, and in using advanced tools for tuning individual cores in a multicore processor.  The deal also calls for integrating Intel compiler and performance primitives into the Wind River multicore software platforms.

Markets that will be targeted in the first phase of the joint work include mil-aero, network infrastructure, industrial control, medical, and print imaging.