Articles tagged: 'cloud-scale'
June 29, 2012
Just how important are IP subsystems to complex SoC designs? It appears much more than you may have thought just a few months ago.
With the emergence of SoCs that now support the cloud computing revolution and every major cloud-connected device, SoC complexity is increasing at a dizzying pace. We commonly now see increasing number of IP cores, cores from multiple sources, different protocols and core frequencies, and so on. And of course, the growing challenges this level of complexity brings to SoC designers and their ability to execute a successful SoC program are also major considerations. So the answer to the above question drove an interesting panel discussion on the emergence and importance of IP subsystems at this month’s DAC.
May 24, 2012
As Featured in: System-Level Design Community
With each passing month, the cloud is taking the semiconductor market by storm—just like it did in the enterprise years ago. Take nVidia’s recent Kepler GPU announcement for cloud computing. This device provides low-latency access to the cloud for gaming, giving gamers performance and access to the latest content without being tied to a game console. Another example is Applied Micro’s X-Gene new cloud DNA 64-bit ‘server-on-a chip’ for powering the cloud. From the system side, ”Apple puts iCloud at the heart of its OS,” expanding the cloud content to include more photo sharing capabilities and adding video sharing.
Another announcement that caught my eye was technology for thin clients. Although I have seen the concept of thin clients come and go, with all the content moving to the cloud, it does appear that there is a real opportunity to reduce client hardware costs and create a new category of desktop and mobile devices that can harness the computing power in the cloud. For the short term, I find it hard to imagine, with the impressive smart phone and tablet trajectories, that anyone (consumers in particular) would want to give up some of the ‘smarts’ in their smart devices. So for now, I see these thin clients being targeted for enterprise and perhaps some vertical applications.