AMD Showcases First 'VirtuHammer' Simulator At LinuxWorld Shows in New York, Paris.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2001 Virtutech's "VirtuHammer" Simulator, Used to Develop Software for AMD's Next-Generation Processor, Joins a Variety AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, www.amd.com) A major manufacturer of semiconductor devices including x86-compatible CPUs, embedded processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices and networking chips. Athlon(TM) Processor-Powered Workstations and Servers At AMD's LinuxWorld Booths; AMD, SuSE Encouraged as Open-Source Community Makes Significant Gains in Porting Linux to AMD's "Hammer" Family of Processors AMD announced today at LinuxWorld events in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Paris the first public demonstration of "VirtuHammer," the recently announced high-performance tool developed by AMD and Virtutech that allows software developers to write and test 64-bit programs for AMD's next-generation "Hammer" family of processors. Additionally, AMD is showing a dozen AMD Athlon(TM) processor-based servers and workstations running on the Linux operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. at LinuxWorld Conference & Expo shows in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. and Paris. LinuxWorld is the premiere tradeshow for developers, supporter and end users of the Linux operating system. AMD is approaching both LinuxWorld events with great optimism as the company, along with Linux operating system vendor SuSE (www.suse.com), reports the achievement of significant milestones in the open-source community's efforts to port Linux to AMD's x86-64 technology. The x86-64 technology extends the x86 instruction set to enable 64-bit computing and is the backbone behind AMD's planned 64-bit processor family, code-named "Hammer." AMD's "Hammer" family is planned for commercial introduction in the first half of 2002. AMD first publicly introduced the x86-64 technology specification at LinuxWorld San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. in August 2000. In just five months, the open source community has succeeded in making software development tools, including the GNU C (language) GNU C - The extension of C compiled by gcc. compiler and Binary Build Tools, comply with the x86-64 standard for software, e.g. the Application Binary Interface See ABI. (programming) Application Binary Interface - (ABI) The interface by which an application program gains access to operating system and other services. It should be possible to run the same compiled binary applications on any system with the right ABI. (ABI Abi (ā`bī) [short for Abijah], in the Bible, King Hezekiah's mother. (Application Binary Interface) A specification for a specific hardware platform combined with the operating system. ). All development activities for this port are taking place in public forums on the www.x86-64.org website. "SuSE has done a tremendous job of spearheading the effort to develop a version of Linux for AMD's x86-64 architecture. Progress to date has been outstanding and makes a profound statement about open-source development," said Wayne Meretsky, AMD Fellow and Manager of Software Research & Development. "AMD's straightforward approach to 64-bit computing continues gaining support from the software community." "AMD's approach to enabling Open Source software for the x86-64 platform taps into the traditional strength of the Open Source software development process, namely the ability to harness the collective wisdom and energies of talented developers around the world," said Dirk Hohndel, SuSE GmbH's Chief Technical Officer. "The rapid progress is also a testament to the virtue of AMD's evolutionary approach In computer science, an evolutionary approach is an acquisition strategy that defines, develops, produces or acquires, and fields an initial hardware or software increment (or block) of operational capability. to 64-bit computing. SuSE believes that businesses everywhere will see similar benefits when migrating to 64-bit applications on x86-64 technology-based platforms." SuSE, whose developers are spearheading the Linux community's efforts to port Linux to the x86-64 architecture, is currently using "VirtuHammer" to develop tools and applications for x86-64 technology-based platforms. "My experience using Virtutech Simics software has been very positive and the support from Virtutech has been very good," said Jan Hubicka, GCC GCC: see Gulf Cooperation Council. (compiler, programming) GCC - The GNU Compiler Collection, which currently contains front ends for C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Java, and Ada, as well as libraries for these languages (libstdc++, libgcj, etc). developer at SuSE Labs. "The speed is good, the command-line interface is great, and I can now run tests using scripts, which allows me to finish a whole test suite in less than half an hour. I am very impressed." "VirtuHammer" is a high-powered tool featuring Virtutech's Simics software and a 1.1GHz AMD Athlon processor. The Simics software program enables a computer featuring the 32-bit AMD Athlon processor to simulate the operations of a 64-bit "Hammer" processor-based computer, allowing developers to use currently available technology to quickly and accurately test and debug To correct a problem in hardware or software. Debugging software means locating the errors in the source code (the program logic). Debugging hardware means finding errors in the circuit design (logical circuits) or in the physical interconnections of the circuits. their 64-bit software for AMD's next-generation processors. (For more information about the Virtutech "VirtuHammer" simulator, please go to www.virtutech.com). "Hammer" processors will be the first AMD processors capable of 64-bit operation, and are being designed to deliver leading-edge performance on both the 64-bit software used by high-end workstations and servers and the 32-bit software used by the majority of desktop computers. AMD has already begun delivering "VirtuHammer" simulators to targeted software partners, helping ensure they have the resources, time, and support required to develop 64-bit operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. , tools and applications for the "Hammer" family of processors. LinuxWorld Demos at the AMD Booth -- Virtutech Simics "VirtuHammer" simulator powered by a 1.1GHz AMD Athlon processor on SuSE 7.0 Linux -- Polywell 1.1GHz AMD Athlon processor-based workstation running Softimage on SuSE 7.0 Linux -- Polywell 1.1GHz AMD Athlon processor-based workstation running POVRay on SuSE 7.0 Linux -- Utron 1.2GHz AMD Athlon processor-based workstation running Nastran/Patran fom MSC software on MSC Linux -- Utron 1.1GHz AMD Athlon processor-based workstation running Blender on SuSE 7.0 Linux -- Polywell 1GHz AMD Athlon processor-based desktop running GIMP on Caldera 2.4 -- Polywell 1GHz AMD Athlon processor-based desktop running Quake 3 from id on Mandrake 7.2 -- LinuxNetworX 4 node 1-2U 1.1GHz AMD Athlon processor-based cluster running streaming media demos -- Utron 2 x 2U Quad 1.1GHz AMD Athlon processor-based server running EnFuzion from TurboLinux on TurboLinux -- Utron 4U 1.1GHz AMD Athlon database processor-based server running Oracle 8i on SuSE 7.0 Linux -- Utron 2U Quad 1.1GHz AMD Athlon processor-based server running a Zeus Web server from Zeus on SuSE 7.0 About AMD x86-64 Technology AMD's straightforward approach to 64-bit computing builds upon the x86 instruction set, one of the industry's most proven and widely supported technologies. AMD x86-64 technology is designed to support applications that address large amounts of physical and virtual memory, such as high performance servers, database management systems, and CAD tools. The x86-64 technology seamlessly integrates into the current computing and support environment, and is designed to enable enterprises to deploy high performance 64-bit capable systems that also deliver leading-edge performance on the billions of dollars invested in the current base of 32-bit software. AMD enhances the current x86 instruction set by introducing two major features: a 64-bit extension called long mode, and register extensions. Long mode consists of two sub-modes: 64-bit mode and compatibility mode A feature of a computer or operating system that allows it to run programs written for a different system. Programs often run slower in compatibility mode. . 64-bit mode supports new 64-bit code through the addition of eight general-purpose registers and widens them all along with the instruction pointer See program counter and instruction register. . It also adds eight 128-bit floating point registers. Compatibility mode supports existing 16-bit and 32-bit applications under a 64-bit operating system. In addition to long mode, the architecture also supports a pure x86 legacy mode, which preserves binary compatibility See binary compatible. with existing 16-bit and 32-bit applications and operating systems. For additional information on the x86-64 instruction set, visit http://www.x86-64.org. AMD x86-64 Technology Timeline -- Oct. 5, 1999: First public disclosure of AMD x86-64 technology -- Aug. 10, 2000: AMD x86-64 Technology Specification 1.0 released -- Aug. 15, 2000: Linux developer community rallies support at LinuxWorld San Jose -- Oct. 6, 2000: AMD SimNow! simulator released -- Jan. 16, 2001: "VirtuHammer" simulator released Visit AMD on the Web For more information, please visit AMD's virtual pressroom at http://www.amd.com/news/virtualpress/index.html About AMD AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits Integrated circuits Miniature electronic circuits produced within and upon a single semiconductor crystal, usually silicon. Integrated circuits range in complexity from simple logic circuits and amplifiers, about 1/20 in. (1. for the personal and networked computer and communications markets with manufacturing facilities in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD produces microprocessors, flash memory devices, and support circuitry for communications and networking applications. Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale ([sʌniveil]) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 131,760. , AMD had revenues of $4.6 billion in 2000. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :AMD) About SuSE SuSE Linux A Linux distribution from the SuSE Linux division of Novell. Both consumer and enterprise versions are available, and the distribution includes several user interfaces. SuSE Linux comes with the Yet Another Setup Tool (YaST), which is used to install, configure and maintain the OS, as is the international technology leader and solutions provider in Open Source operating system (OS) software. SuSE's unique expertise in Linux and its largest development team worldwide dedicated to Open Source software has contributed to the recognition of SuSE as the most complete Linux solution available today. SuSE Linux AG, headquartered in Germany, and SuSE Inc., based in Oakland, Calif., are privately held companies privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. focused entirely on supporting the Linux community and Open Source development. With a workforce of more than 500 people worldwide, SuSE has offices throughout Europe, Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. and in the U.S. More information please see www.suse.com. About Virtutech Virtutech is the world leader in efficient simulation of high performance computer systems. Virtutech develops tools that are used to design, implement, and test systems such as multiprocessor servers and telephone switches. Its flagship product is Virtutech Simics. Virtutech is a privately held company, based in Stockholm, Sweden. For more information on VirtuHammer, including availability, go to www.Virtutech.com Cautionary Statement This release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. Forward-looking statements are generally preceded by words such as "plans," "expects," "believes," "anticipates" or "intends." Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements in this release involve risks and uncertainty that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. Forward looking statements in this release include the risk that the "Hammer" family of processors may not be introduced on the anticipated schedule. We urge investors to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in the Company's filings with the United States Securities Exchange Commission. Note to Editors: AMD, the AMD logo, AMD Athlon, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Virtutech and Simics are trademarks or registered trademarks of Virtutech AB. Other product names used in this publication are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies. |
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