MIPS processor - adomain

Introduction

MIPSTechnologyCorporationisamanufacturerofhigh-performance,high-endandembedded32-bitand64-bitprocessors,andoccupiesanimportantpositioninRISCprocessors.In1984,MIPSComputerCorporationwasestablished.In1992,SGIacquiredMIPSComputerCorporation.In1998,MIPSseparatedfromSGIandbecameaMIPStechnologycompany.

MIPScompanydesignedtheRISCprocessorintheearly1980s,launchedtheR2000processorin1986,launchedtheR3000processorin1988,andlaunchedthefirst64-bitcommercialmicroprocessorR4000in1991..LatermodelssuchasR8000(in1994),R10000(in1996)andR12000(in1997)weresuccessivelyintroduced.

Development

Subsequently,MIPS'strategychangedtofocusonembeddedsystems.In1999,MIPSCorporationreleasedtheMIPS32andMIPS64architecturestandards,layingthefoundationforthedevelopmentoffutureMIPSprocessors.ThenewarchitectureintegratesalltheoriginalMIPSinstructionsetsandaddsmanymorepowerfulfunctions.MIPShassuccessivelydevelopedahigh-performance,low-power32-bitprocessorcore(core)MIPS324Kcandahigh-performance64-bitprocessorcoreMIPS645Kc.In2000,MIPSreleasedaversionforMIPS324Kcanda64-bitMIPS6420Kcprocessorcore.

MIPSTechnologyCorporationisawell-knownchipdesigncompanyintheUnitedStates.ItusesReducedInstructionSystemComputingArchitecture(RISC)todesignchips.Comparedwiththecomplexinstructionsystemcomputingstructure(CISC)adoptedbyIntel,RISChastheadvantagesofsimplerdesignandshorterdesigncycle,andcanapplymoreadvancedtechnologiestodevelopfasternext-generationprocessors.

MIPS processor

DuringthedevelopmentofMIPSchips,SGIacquiredMIPSComputersin1992.In1998,MIPSbrokeawayfromSGIandbecameaMIPStechnologycompany;MIPS324KcTMprocessorisaspecificMIPStechnologyAhigh-performance,low-voltage32-bitMIPSRISCcoredesignedforSystem-On-a-Chip.AdoptingtheMIPS32TMarchitecture,withtheR4000memorymanagementunit(MMU)andextendedprioritymode,thisprocessorisfullycompatiblewiththeR3000andR4000series(32-bit)microprocessorscurrentlywidelyusedintheembeddedfield.Thenew64-bitMIPSprocessorisRM9000x2.Judgingfromthe"x2"mark,itcontainsnotonebuttwo64-bitprocessorswithintegratedL2cache.RM9000x2ismainlyaimedatthenetworkinfrastructuremarket,withanintegratedDDRmemorycontrollerandultra-high-speedHyperTransportI/Olink.

Theprocessor,memory,andI/Oareallcross-connectedbygroupingtoachieveaunifiedchipsystemwithhighperformanceandcomprehensivecache.Inadditiontoimprovingsystemperformancethroughparallelprocessing,RM9000x2alsoimprovestheperformanceofasingleprocessorbycombiningsuperscalarandsuperpipelinetechnology.

The64-bitprocessorMIPS6420Kchasstrongfloating-pointcapabilityandcanformdifferentsystems,fromOctaneworkstationswithoneprocessortoOrigin2000serverswith64processors;thiskindofCPUismoresuitableforgraphicsworkstationsuse.ThelatestR12000chipofMIPShasbeenappliedinSGIservers,anditsmainfrequencycanreachupto400MHzatpresent.

MIPSprocessorswereahotspotinthedesignofRISCCPUsinthemid-1980s.MIPSisthebestsellingRISCCPU.YoucanseeMIPSproductsonsalefromanywhere,suchasSonyandNintendogameconsoles,CiscoroutersandSGIsupercomputers.Atpresent,astheRISCarchitectureisundercompetitionfromx86chips,MIPSmaybetheonlyoneintheoriginalRISCCPUdesignthatwillbeprofitableinthiscentury.ComparedwithIntel,thelicensingfeeofMIPSisrelativelylow,anditisadoptedbymostchipmanufacturersexceptIntel.

ThesystemstructureanddesignconceptofMIPSarerelativelyadvanced.ItsinstructionsystemhaspassedthegeneralprocessorinstructionsystemMIPSI,MIPSII,MIPSIII,MIPSIVtoMIPSV,andtheembeddedinstructionsystemMIPS16,MIPS32toMIPS64Thedevelopmentisverymature.Inthedesignconcept,MIPSemphasizesthecollaborationofsoftwareandhardwaretoimproveperformancewhilesimplifyinghardwaredesign.

ChinaLoongson2anditspreviousproductsusethe64-bitMIPSinstructionarchitecture,whichisincompatiblewiththecommonlyknownX86instructionarchitecture.TheMIPSinstructionarchitecturewascreatedbyMIPSandbelongstotheRISCsystem..Inthepast,MIPS-basedproductsweremostlyfoundinthefieldofworkstations.The"EmotionEngine"usedbySony'sPS2gameconsolealsousesMIPSinstructions.TheseMIPSprocessorshaveverystrongperformance,andGodson2alsobelongstothiscamp.Fullycompatible.

Note:(ChinaLoongsonhascooperatedwithMIPS)

DuetothefiercecompetitionintheserverRISCprocessormarket,HPhasgivenupitsPA-RISCand"illegitimatechildren"Alpha.Typesofserverprocessors,while"Alphatechnology"isabsorbedbyIntelandAMDandappliedtotheirownprocessors;MIPSprocessorshaveawiderrangeofapplications.ForserverRISCprocessors,theyaremainlyappliedtospecializedgraphicsWorkstation/server;relativelyspeaking,theapplicationismoreprofessional,sothereislesscompetition.AsfarascurrentserverRISCprocessorsareconcerned,itismainlythecompetitionbetweenIBM'sPOWERandSUN'sUltraSPARCprocessors;relativelyspeaking,IBMisabigwinnerinthisRISCprocessorcompetition.

UltraSPARCprocessorsarethelifebloodofSun.UnixserversbasedonUltraSPARChavebroughtinalotofrevenueforSun.However,aftertheimpactofthe.combubble,andtheUnixservermarkethasgraduallystabilized,Atatimewhenrevenueisdeclining,UltraSPARC'shugeresearchanddevelopmentcostshaveturnedintoaheavyburdenforSun.

Facedwithitsownsetbacks,SunhasrecentlysuccessivelyannouncedanewstrategyforUltraSPARC,drasticallychangingtheUltraSPARCproductplan(roadmap)tochangethecurrentunfavorablesituation.Forexample,theUltraSparcVandGeminiprocessorswerecancelled,andtheresourcefocuswasshiftedtohigh-throughputcomputingprocessorscode-namedNiagaraandRock.AndSunandFujitsuplantomergetheirSparcprocessor-basedserverproductsbefore2006tojointlydealwiththeircompetitorIBM;peoplearewaitingtoseewhowilldie.

Loongsonplanstoacquirea20%stakeinMIPS,anAmericanchipdesigncompany.TheDailyBusinessNewsreportedlastweekthattheBeijinggovernmentrequiredLoongsontopurchase20%ofMIPSandsendarepresentativetothecompany’sboardofdirectorstobecomeitsdirector.InJune2009,LoongsonhadobtainedMIPS32and64architectureprocessorlicensesfromMIPSCompany.ThemainreasonwasthatLoongson'sprocessorarchitecturewastoosimilartoMIPS'architecture(95%),andLoongsonproductsweresuspectedofinfringement.ThemarketvalueofMIPSisestimatedtobearoundUS$100million.FortheChinesegovernment,whichhasplentyofcash,buying20%ofthesharesisabreeze.TheMIPS-relatedintellectualpropertybehindGodsonistheonlypartofChinathathasnotbeeninventedorcreated.ThisisapainpointfortheChinesegovernment,whichhastakenindependentinnovationofchipsasasymbolofprogressinthesemiconductorindustryandhaselevateditsnationalpride.Therefore,bypurchasingaportionofMIPSshares,theInstituteofComputerScienceandTechnologyoftheChineseAcademyofScienceshastakenasmallsteptowardssolvingthisproblem.