Motorola Releases Free AltiVec™
Technology-Enabled Library for Linux®
OSDownloadable AltiVec
Functions Significantly Enhance CPU Efficiency and Throughput for Networking and
Communications ApplicationsSMART NETWORKS
DEVELOPER FORUM, PARIS - June 5, 2003 - Embedded system designers using the
Linux® operating system (OS) can now leverage AltiVec™ technology to
boost the performance of their networking and communications applications.
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) has created a downloadable source-code library of
AltiVec technology-enabled functions that are frequently used in the Linux OS.
The code library (AltiVec technology-enabled equivalents of the Linux string.S
and checksum.S files) is designed to help Linux OS developers enhance the speed
and efficiency of their applications based on the Motorola G4 processor
containing PowerPC™ cores, without upgrading to higher processor
speeds.
Motorola has demonstrated a 100 percent
improvement in CPU efficiency by employing AltiVec technology-enabled memory
copying and checksum calculation functions in the Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol stacks within the Linux Kernel. A
50 percent reduction in CPU utilization has been achieved while delivering a TCP
bulk data transfer stream at near Gigabit speed--with no modifications to the
Linux TCP/IP stack and with minimal modifications to the sockets layer routines.
The existing sockets layer functions were modified to call the AltiVec
technology-enabled memcpy and checksum functions from this
library.
"Motorola's downloadable AltiVec code
library helps developers accelerate the performance of their Linux OS- and
Motorola G4 processor-based applications, without having to invest in higher CPU
clock speeds," said Bill Dunnigan, corporate vice president and general manager
of Motorola's Computing Platforms Division. "In today's cost-sensitive
development environment, telecom and networking equipment manufacturers will
welcome this capability to enhance system-level performance with no extra
component cost or upgrades. Motorola also offers expert support through our
AltiVec Center of Excellence to help Linux OS developers speed their G4
processor-based applications to
market."
About AltiVec
TechnologyIntroduced by Motorola in 1999,
AltiVec technology has powered significant performance improvements across the
computing and imaging industries in applications ranging from office automation
to cutting-edge medical imaging technology. Motorola has enabled comparable
performance gains in the networking and telecom markets by offering optimized
AltiVec code libraries for networking-specific tasks, such as TCP/IP. AltiVec
technology can be applied to improve the performance of networking and telecom
systems ranging from wireless base stations to IP telephony gateways and speech
processing systems to multi-channel modems and VPN
servers.
An integral part of Motorola's G4
family of PowerPC host processors, AltiVec technology can enable up to a 3X and
4X performance boost for telecom and networking applications, according to
leading industry benchmarks. For example, Motorola's MPC7457 PowerPC processor
with AltiVec technology recently achieved the highest performance rating of any
general-purpose processor tested against the telecom and networking benchmark
suites by the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium
(EEMBC).
AltiVec technology provides Single
Instruction, Multiple Data (SIMD) capabilities similar to those found in
stand-alone digital signal processors. With its 128-bit vector execution unit,
AltiVec technology supports high-bandwidth data processing and computationally
intensive algorithms such as those used in wireless base stations and high-end
routers. This approach allows designers to leverage existing PowerPC code and
add AltiVec performance as market requirements change--without hardware
upgrades.
Pricing and
AvailabilityMotorola's AltiVec
technology-enabled library for Linux OS is available to developers free of
charge. AltiVec technology-enabled equivalents of the Linux string.S and
checksum.S files, along with modification process descriptions, can be
downloaded at
www.motorola.com/altivec.
About
Motorola Semiconductor Products SectorAs the
world's #1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's Semiconductor Products
Sector creates DigitalDNA™ system-on-chip solutions for a connected world.
Our strong focus on wireless communications and networking enables customers to
develop smarter, simpler, safer and synchronized products for the person, work
team, home and automobile. Motorola's worldwide semiconductor sales were $5.0
billion (USD) in 2002. For more information please visit
www.motorola.com/semiconductors
About
MotorolaMotorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) is a global
leader in wireless, automotive and broadband communications. Sales in 2002 were
$27.3 billion. Motorola is a global corporate citizen dedicated to ethical
business practices and pioneering important innovations that make things smarter
and life better, honored traditions that began when the company was founded 75
years ago this year. For more information, please visit
www.motorola.com.
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Response:Motorola SPS
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MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are
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Motorola, Inc. 2003.