IDF in silikonovoj to a valley

Evgenie Rudometov

rudometov@rudometov.com

On the traditional Developer forum IDF which has taken place recently in San Francisco, during key reports bosses of corporation of Intel have told about long-term plans of development of IT branch

Prompt development of IT processing techniques demands the international coordination of efforts of contributors and production workers of the different countries. Developer forums IDF (Intel Developer Forum) are devoted this purpose. These Forums are led since 1997 traditionally twice a year in the USA and open sessions in the different countries, including Russia.

The next Forum has taken place in San Francisco and has transited under the slogan «Power-Optimized Platforms. Leap Ahead» («Energosberegajushchie platforms. Break on new level»). During this action the main have been summed up developments and IT branch plans for development on immediate prospects are promulgated.

At the Forum the considerable quantity of the technical sessions calculated for experts has been led. However central event IDF traditionally are key reports which have transited this time within one day and have opened performance Dzhastina Rettnera (Justin Rattner), the high deserved engineer-contributor of Intel and the executive director of corporation of Intel on processing techniques.

Photo 1. Performance Dzhastina Rettnera

In the report has marked, that one of the main problems facing to designers of difficult, high-frequency chips, is high energopotreblenie, and consequently, and teploobrazovanie. For the sake of justice it is necessary to mark, that the given problem repeatedly rose Patrick Gelsingerom during the previous Forums. He marked, that the branch has come nearer to a threshold when the energy density teploobrazovanija processor chips already corresponds to levels of nuclear reactors. Further she risks to reach star values.

Solving this problem, experts of Intel have refused intensive methods of overgrowth of clock rates and have decided to concentrate on appropriate perfection of processor architectures. As in Intel active there are extremely successful kernels Banias and Dothan, checked up in transportable processors of Intel of Pentium M.

The new architecture has received the name of Intel Core and partially has already transited approbation in transportable processors with kernel Yonah.

The architecture of Intel Core allows to improve a relation of productivity and energopotreblenija. It banks in herself in herself variety of innovative processing techniques. Among them processing technique of Intel Wide Dynamic Execution which allows to handle more commands for clock tick of the processor: to four instructions simultaneously, using the pipeline from 14 stages. Besides, processing technique of Intel Intelligent Power Capability which reduces energopotreblenie, activating or switching off separate logical subsystems. One more innovation is the processing technique of Intel Advanced Smart Cache which controls the cache memory of 2nd level. It in addition snizhet energopotreblenie, reducing to a minimum data exchange with memory, also raises productivity. To the enumerated processing techniques it is necessary to add Intel Smart Memory Access raising productivity of system, and Intel Advanced Digital Media Boost with its possibilities of processing of 128-bit SSE commands, SSE2 and SSE3, used in multimedia applications.

The given newest processing techniques will be applied as in transportable, and desktop, and server platforms. For transportable solutions soon there will be processor Merom, productivity and energoekonomichnost which will be essentially above, than for current solutions.

Photo 2. Relative productivity of transportable processors

For desktop computers processor Conroe will be released. Its productivity will be on 40 % above at simultaneous reduction energopotreblenija on 40 %. For server platforms there will be processor Woodcrest. It will be on 80 % proizvoditelnee and on 35 % is more economic than current processors.

Besides Dzhastina Rattnera, at Forum IDF many heads of Intel have appeared with reports. Patrick Gelsinger (Pat Gelsinger), the high vice-president of corporation of Intel and the general manager of its division Digital Enterprise Group, has told about evolution desktop and server solutions.

Photo 3. Patrick Gelsinger shows samples of perspective processors

By way of illustration substantial increase of productivity of processors for desktop PCs was has shown the two-nuclear processor with the code name Conroe, consuming on 40 % there is less than energy and possessing thus on 40 % more high efficiency.

Patrick Gelsinger has declared, that processor Conroe will be a part of a professional business platform of Intel with code name Averill. In its basis except dvuhjadernogo the processor, the new chipset with code name Broadwater, processing technique of Intel Virtualization Technology and processing techniques of Intel Active Management Technology of the second generation will enter.

For dual-processor servers and workstations in 2006 Intel corporation will release three new processors. Processors Sossaman with ultralow energopotrebleniem, processor Dempsey and processor Woodcrest become them.

Telling about the nearest schedules of corporation of Intel concerning development of the advanced multinuclear processors, Gelsinger also for the first time has presented the information about chetyrehjadernom the processor with code name Clovertown for dual-processor servers. Its release is planned on the beginning of 2007. This processor will possess the raised computational capability and to correspond to requirements of multithreaded applications. Also in the beginning of 2007 Intel corporation plans to release chetyrehjadernyj the processor for desktop PCs of the higher class. This processor has code name Kentsfield.

Subject of multinuclear processors has continued SHon Melouni (Sean Maloney), the executive vice-president of corporation of Intel and the general manager of division Mobility Group. He has shared the information on schedules of Intel concerning development of transportable systems. In the course of the report it has shown a number of samples of the supercompact notebooks constructed on the basis of transportable one-nuclear and two-nuclear processors and possessing in weight less 0,5 kg.

Except supercompact solutions, the big attention in the report has been devoted evolution of current platforms Sonoma and Napa. Appearance of the transportable two-nuclear processor Merom supporting 64-bit calculations, will allow to expand possibilities of existing platform Napa. Added with matching components, this processor becomes a basis of the new platform known as Santa Rosa. Its basic elements become chip set Crestline with the integrated resources of a drawing, the unit of wireless communication Kedron with implementation IEEE 802.11n and the special NAND unit of the flash-memory realising processing technique Robson. The given processing technique urged to provide the accelerated loading of the operating system and program applications. The demonstrating led in the course of the report has shown, that system loading in a notebook on platform Santa Rosa has been fulfilled for 3,5 c against 15 with for notebook Napa. Usage of this and other not less interesting processing techniques will allow not only to expand functionality of the future notebooks, but also it is essential to increase offline work time as it is supposed till 8 o'clock.

Photo 4. Units of platform SantaRosa for the future notebooks

Don McDonald (Don MacDonald), the vice-president and the general manager of division Digital Home Group, has told, how the processing technique of Intel Viiv facilitates creation of the digital house, providing to users access to entertaining tools at any time in any place by means of the most different arrangements. In the course of the report Don McDonald has shown voice-activated control by the computer complex, and also simplicity and speed of automatic inclusion of additional arrangements in a local wireless network.

Estimating the enumerated details of key reports, it is necessary to mark, that in small article it is impossible to enumerate all innovations as many of them have been in detail considered and parsed at numerous technical sessions. So questions and transition perspectives, probably, in 2008 of branch on slices in diameter of 450 mm, problems of lithographic processes with usage of hard ultra-violet radiation, a problem and reaching, for example, have been considered at mastering of 45 nanometers tehprotsessa, well and is finite, details of new processor microarchitecture of processor kernels. Wireless transmission media of data, as Wi-Fi, WiMAX, wireless USB, etc. are not disregarded also ., which development is carried out by the accelerated rates.

As to implementation of the numerous innovations declared on IDF the considerable part from them has been shown at a traditional exhibition where the leading computer companies have presented the hardware-software solutions.

All enumerated demands separate articles. Some of them will be presented on pages of the given issuing.

In summary it is necessary to remind, that already in the end of April 2006 Russian session IDF will take place. It traditionally will transit in Moscow.