Freescale Semiconductor Inc.
unveiled a pair of new communications processor platforms this week, and said
that it is already partnering with suppliers to provide embedded software for
the new products.
The two new
platforms, part of the company's QorIQ
processor lines, include 64-bit and quad-core products. Markets for the new
platforms include high-end control and data plane applications in aerospace and
defense, robotics, routers, switches, networking, enterprise storage and data
centers.
Freescale
engineers said that implementation of the new communications processors would
be made simpler for engineers by the rollout of software from such companies as
Green Hills Software, Enea, Mentor
Graphics, Wind River, CodeSourcery, Curtiss-Wright Controls, Emerson
Network Power, GE Intelligent Platforms,
Mercury Computer Systems and QNX. The availability of development tools for
multi-core and 64-bit products, along with operating systems and virtualization
tools, is critical to enabling engineers to bring products to market faster,
Freescale said.
"Some
customers find it difficult to move to 64-bit because it's an investment for
them," said Katie Butler, a product marketing engineer in Freescale's
Networking Systems Div. "Having an ecosystem of third-party software simplifies
it."
Freescale's
new processors, introduced at the Freescale Technology Forum (FTF) held in
Orlando this week, will include the single-core 64-bit P5010, the dual-core
64-bit P5020 and the quad-core P3041. The QorIQ 64-bit platform features the
company's e5500 core, which is said to deliver twice the performance of
Freescale's earlier e500 core, reaching frequencies up to 2.5 GHz.
Software
vendors at FTF this week said they would supply development tools and operating
systems for the P5010, P5020 and P3041 platforms.
"We're
providing the foundation elements that allow them to develop and execute the
code," said Dan Mender, vice president of business development for Green Hills
Software Inc., which offers tools for code cogeneration, execution and debug
for the QorIQ family. "This delivers a part of what's required to take people
to 64 bits, or from single-core to multi-core."
Freescale Teams with Software Suppliers on New Communications Platforms
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