07-11-2012, 04:44 PM
Seminar report on ITANIUM:The 64-bit microprocessor from intel
[attachment=38467]
ITANIUM
History:
In 1994, Hewlett-Packard and Intel Corporation agreed to jointly design EPIC (Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing), a post-RISC and post-IA-32 technology. Using EPIC concepts, HP and Intel® then jointly defined Itanium’s 64-bit Itanium Processor Family (IPF) architecture, the basis of Intel’s future, high-performance microprocessor family a broad range of technical and commercial applications at 1.0GHz. The starting place for the team was a comprehensive understanding of the capabilities of the .18um bulk technology transistors and interconnects with a view toward exploiting these capabilities to the fullest. The Itanium processor began shipping in end-user pilot systems in late 2000. Intel intends to follow Itanium with additional processors in the Itanium family: McKinley, Madison and Deerfield in late 2002.
Need For Itanium:
Internet commerce and large database applications are dealing with ever- increasing quantities of data, and demands placed on both server and workstation resources are increasing correspondingly. One demand is for more memory than the 4 GB provided by today’s 32-bit computer architectures. Itanium’s ability to address a flat 64-bit memory address space in the millions
of gigabytes has been the focus of attention. Beyond very large memory (VLM) support, however, other traits, including a new Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing (EPIC) design philosophy that will handle parallel processing differently than previous architectures, speculation, predication, large register files, a register stack and advanced branch architecture. IA-64 also provides an enhanced system architecture supporting fast interrupt response and a flexible, large virtual address mode. The 64-bit addressing enabled by the Intel Itanium architecture will help overcome the scalability barriers and awkward, maintenance-intensive partitioning directory schemes of current directory services on 32-bit platforms. , Intel has been assiduous in providing backward compatibility with 32-bit binaries (IA-32), from the x86 families. The Itanium has a complex, bleeding edge, forward looking processor family that holds promise for huge gains in processing power.
The How’s & Wows of Itanium:
Itanium defined a new architecture that provides a unique combination of innovative features, which overcomes the performance limitations of traditional architectures. The IA-64 architecture is based on innovative techniques/features such as Explicit parallelism, Parallelism, and Predication and Speculation, resulting in superior Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP) and increased instructions per cycle (IPC) to address the current and future requirements of these demanding Internet, high end server, and workstation applications. In addition, the IA-64 architecture provides headroom and scalability for continued future growth.
We take a look at all the features that make it possible, that are the bricks and mortar of the Itanium; and then we shall see the architecture that emerges.
EPIC:
EPIC stands for Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing–a new design philosophy going beyond the RISC and CISC processors that are available today. EPIC technology enables greater instruction level parallelism than previous processor architectures, supporting higher levels of performance in targeted application segments. The Itanium architecture is based on EPIC technology. EPIC is based on a unique combination of innovative features such as predication, speculation and explicit parallelism enabling world-class performance for the high-end enterprise class of computing
Speculation:
The latency of memory is a big performance bottleneck in today's systems. IA-64 architecture employs a technique called as speculation to initiate loads from memory earlier in the instruction stream—even before a branch. Data speculation thus, is caching and calling for data that may be needed or may be changed before it is needed, so that, in the case that the data is needed and it has not changed, the CPU does not have to take a latency impact from calling for the data. The processor, with the help of compiled instructions, looks ahead, anticipates what information it may need, and then brings it to cache or into the processor. This helps hide memory latency. Thus speculation increases instruction level parallelism and reduces the impact of memory latency resulting in handsome performance gains.
Applications:
The new IA-64 architecture finds its applications in various fields. This processor has a tremendous potential in terms of speed and performance. The inherently scalable nature of the architecture makes it very compelling for the high-end server and workstation market segments. The Itanium was not designed for small systems, it is intended for 1 to 4000 processor workstations and servers.
The biggest, toughest computing challenges in the world are tackled—and very often solved through high performance computing (HPC). Such diverse and life-essential research areas like meteorological modeling, automotive crash test simulations, human genome mapping, and nuclear blast modeling are all part of HPC. Solutions built on open standards-based Intel® platforms provide supercomputing capabilities at significant cost savings for cutting-edge scientific, research, industry, and enterprise HPC applications.
[attachment=38467]
ITANIUM
History:
In 1994, Hewlett-Packard and Intel Corporation agreed to jointly design EPIC (Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing), a post-RISC and post-IA-32 technology. Using EPIC concepts, HP and Intel® then jointly defined Itanium’s 64-bit Itanium Processor Family (IPF) architecture, the basis of Intel’s future, high-performance microprocessor family a broad range of technical and commercial applications at 1.0GHz. The starting place for the team was a comprehensive understanding of the capabilities of the .18um bulk technology transistors and interconnects with a view toward exploiting these capabilities to the fullest. The Itanium processor began shipping in end-user pilot systems in late 2000. Intel intends to follow Itanium with additional processors in the Itanium family: McKinley, Madison and Deerfield in late 2002.
Need For Itanium:
Internet commerce and large database applications are dealing with ever- increasing quantities of data, and demands placed on both server and workstation resources are increasing correspondingly. One demand is for more memory than the 4 GB provided by today’s 32-bit computer architectures. Itanium’s ability to address a flat 64-bit memory address space in the millions
of gigabytes has been the focus of attention. Beyond very large memory (VLM) support, however, other traits, including a new Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing (EPIC) design philosophy that will handle parallel processing differently than previous architectures, speculation, predication, large register files, a register stack and advanced branch architecture. IA-64 also provides an enhanced system architecture supporting fast interrupt response and a flexible, large virtual address mode. The 64-bit addressing enabled by the Intel Itanium architecture will help overcome the scalability barriers and awkward, maintenance-intensive partitioning directory schemes of current directory services on 32-bit platforms. , Intel has been assiduous in providing backward compatibility with 32-bit binaries (IA-32), from the x86 families. The Itanium has a complex, bleeding edge, forward looking processor family that holds promise for huge gains in processing power.
The How’s & Wows of Itanium:
Itanium defined a new architecture that provides a unique combination of innovative features, which overcomes the performance limitations of traditional architectures. The IA-64 architecture is based on innovative techniques/features such as Explicit parallelism, Parallelism, and Predication and Speculation, resulting in superior Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP) and increased instructions per cycle (IPC) to address the current and future requirements of these demanding Internet, high end server, and workstation applications. In addition, the IA-64 architecture provides headroom and scalability for continued future growth.
We take a look at all the features that make it possible, that are the bricks and mortar of the Itanium; and then we shall see the architecture that emerges.
EPIC:
EPIC stands for Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing–a new design philosophy going beyond the RISC and CISC processors that are available today. EPIC technology enables greater instruction level parallelism than previous processor architectures, supporting higher levels of performance in targeted application segments. The Itanium architecture is based on EPIC technology. EPIC is based on a unique combination of innovative features such as predication, speculation and explicit parallelism enabling world-class performance for the high-end enterprise class of computing
Speculation:
The latency of memory is a big performance bottleneck in today's systems. IA-64 architecture employs a technique called as speculation to initiate loads from memory earlier in the instruction stream—even before a branch. Data speculation thus, is caching and calling for data that may be needed or may be changed before it is needed, so that, in the case that the data is needed and it has not changed, the CPU does not have to take a latency impact from calling for the data. The processor, with the help of compiled instructions, looks ahead, anticipates what information it may need, and then brings it to cache or into the processor. This helps hide memory latency. Thus speculation increases instruction level parallelism and reduces the impact of memory latency resulting in handsome performance gains.
Applications:
The new IA-64 architecture finds its applications in various fields. This processor has a tremendous potential in terms of speed and performance. The inherently scalable nature of the architecture makes it very compelling for the high-end server and workstation market segments. The Itanium was not designed for small systems, it is intended for 1 to 4000 processor workstations and servers.
The biggest, toughest computing challenges in the world are tackled—and very often solved through high performance computing (HPC). Such diverse and life-essential research areas like meteorological modeling, automotive crash test simulations, human genome mapping, and nuclear blast modeling are all part of HPC. Solutions built on open standards-based Intel® platforms provide supercomputing capabilities at significant cost savings for cutting-edge scientific, research, industry, and enterprise HPC applications.