Freescale Opens QUICC Engine(TM) Technology to Embedded Developers; Open QUICC Engine Technology Program Gives Developers Freedom to Innovate, Customize Microcode and Expand Application Possibilities Without Adding Costly Silicon.AUSTIN, Texas -- Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :FSL FSL - Formal Semantics Language. A language for compiler writing. ["A Formal Semantics for Computer Languages and its Application in a Compiler-Compiler", J.A. Feldman, CACM 9(1) (Jan 1966)]. [Sammet 1969, p. 641]. ) (NYSE:FSL.B) has introduced the Open QUICC QUICC Quad Integrated Communications Controller Engine(TM) developer program for third-party developers and customers who want to optimize the communications functionality of applications that leverage Freescale's QUICC Engine technology. The program is designed to enable developers to customize Freescale microcode that runs on QUICC Engine technology to support a wide range of industry-standard communications interfaces and protocols. QUICC Engine technology is Freescale's next-generation communications engine designed to offload bandwidth-intensive processing tasks from a control-plane CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. , such as a PowerPC(R) core contained in a PowerQUICC(TM) processor, or from a DSP (1) (Digital Signal Processor) A special-purpose CPU used for digital signal processing applications (see definition #2 below). It provides ultra-fast instruction sequences, such as shift and add, and multiply and add, which are commonly used in math-intensive . Introduced in the MPC (1) (Mobile PC) A handheld or laptop computer. See handheld computer, laptop computer and Ultra-Mobile PC. (2) (MultiPath Channel) See multipath. 8360E PowerQUICC II Pro processor family and extensible to other Freescale processor architectures, QUICC Engine technology supports a wide range of communications protocols and functions through microcode. These include Layer 1 physical interfaces; Layer 2 termination, forwarding and interworking (standard) interworking - Systems or components, possibly from different origins, working together to perform some task. Interworking depends crucially on standards to define the interfaces between the components. ; Layer 3 interworking and forwarding; Layer 4 identification and forwarding; IP/Ethernet and ATM traffic management; and quality of service. "The Open QUICC Engine program gives developers the freedom to customize general-purpose Freescale microcode and create application-targeted microcode solutions for specific customer needs," said Lynelle McKay, vice president and general manager of Freescale's Digital Systems Division. "The program is designed to unlock the application possibilities of QUICC Engine technology. It enables third-party developers and customers to implement new communications processing functions in microcode without having to add ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Pronounced "a-sick." A chip that is custom designed for a specific application rather than a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) A type of gate array that is programmed in the field rather than in a semiconductor fab. Containing up to hundreds of thousands of gates, there are a variety of FPGA architectures on the market. devices to their applications." A key part of Freescale's enablement ecosystem for PowerQUICC architecture, the Open QUICC Engine program is available to developers through a license agreement with Freescale. Initial members of the program include Arabella Software, DoGav Systems, IndusRAD Inc. and Wipro Technologies. Freescale also invites customers to contact the Open QUICC Engine program team to discuss opportunities for early adopter engagement. "Freescale's Open QUICC Engine technology program enables us to develop application-specific microcode solutions that will help us reach new customers and work closely with Freescale to expand our customer base in the communications and networking, voice over IP systems, embedded controls systems and consumer/SOHO networking markets," said Ravi Rao, vice president of marketing and strategic alliances at IndusRAD Inc. "The developer program gives us the training, tools and support we need to innovate within the technically challenging framework of customizing QUICC engine microcode." "The Open QUICC Engine program is pioneering a new trend for communications processors: the ability to customize industry-standard microcode for new and emerging applications," said P. Subrahmanyam, senior vice president of broadband at Wipro Technologies. "We applaud Freescale for providing this much-needed enablement program for the communications market. The program will enable Wipro to leverage our expertise and technical resources to quickly develop application-specific microcode for Freescale customers." Developers who join the Open QUICC Engine program receive extensive training, documentation and access to CodeWarrior(R) programming tools. Open QUICC Engine tools enable software engineers to manipulate and optimize QUICC Engine communication interfaces to add new functionality to PowerQUICC processor-based applications. This flexible architecture makes QUICC Engine technology suitable for a wide range of applications, such as industrial control, consumer/SOHO networking, broadband access, enterprise networking, wireless and wireline infrastructure, and VoIP systems. Customized microcode developed through the Open QUICC Engine technology program will be portable and scalable across QUICC Engine technology-based processor platforms and applications. The microcode also will be compatible with major operating systems, such as the Linux OS, Integrity OS from Green Hills Software and VxWorks RTOS (1) (RealTime Operating System) An operating system designed for use in a real time computer system. See real time system, embedded system, process control and OS-9. from Wind River Systems. For more details about the Open QUICC Engine program, visit www.freescale.com/quiccengine. About QUICC Engine technology Freescale's QUICC Engine technology is a scalable, programmable RISC-based communications protocol acceleration engine designed for next-generation wireline and wireless access applications. QUICC Engine technology delivers the packet throughput, interworking capabilities (without CPU intervention), multi-protocol support, high-channel density and software compatibility required to develop advanced, economical solutions for converged packet networks. Based on Freescale's SoC methodology, QUICC Engine technology used in MPC8360E processors features two RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. cores, each running at up to 500MHz. This advanced architecture supports a combined full-duplex data throughput of up to 1.2Gbps interworking. Eight Unified Communication Controllers (UCCs) support Gigabit Ethernet, HDLC (High-level Data Link Control) A data link protocol from ISO for point-to-point communications over serial links. Derived from IBM's SDLC protocol, HDLC has been the basis for numerous protocols including X.25, ISDN, T1, SS7, GSM, CDPD, PPP and others. , and UTOPIA/Packet over SONET (POS (1) See point of sale and packet over SONET. (2) "Parent over shoulder." See digispeak. POS - point of sale ) at up to OC-12 speeds. About Freescale Semiconductor Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE:FSL) (NYSE:FSL.B) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets. Freescale became a publicly traded company publicly traded company A company whose shares of common stock are held by the public and are available for purchase by investors. The shares of publicly traded firms are bought and sold on the organized exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. in July 2004 after more than 50 years as part of Motorola Inc. The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries. Freescale, a member of the S&P 500(R), is one of the world's largest semiconductor companies with 2005 sales of $5.8 billion (USD USD In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the U.S. Dollar. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ). www.freescale.com Reader Inquiry Response: Freescale Semiconductor P.O. Box 17927 Denver, CO 80217 USA Freescale(TM) and the Freescale logo are trademarks of Freescale Semiconductor Inc. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. The "PowerPC" name is a trademark of IBM Corp. and used under license. (C) Freescale Semiconductor Inc. 2006. |
|
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion