Architecture optimised for information appliances

National Semiconductor has introduced a new Geode technology which it says will enable unprecedented performance, low power consumption and enhanced streaming multimedia

Ushering in the next-generation information appliances, National Semiconductor has introduced a new Geode technology at the Embedded Processor Forum in San Jose.

This new system architecture, the industry's first designed and optimised for information appliance (IA) systems, will enable unprecedented performance, low power consumption and enhanced streaming multimedia.

National is achieving these benefits by designing a new IA-specific architecture which is ideally suited to move multimedia data across the different building blocks on a system-on-a-chip, thus bringing the integration concept to a new level.

The new system architecture will be the best solution on the market combining full x86 and PCI compatibility with extremely low power consumption.

In addition to offering performance and power benefits, the GeodeLink architecture will improve silicon design productivity and time-to-market by enabling a modular reusable design methodology and quick integration of the latest silicon intellectual property (IP).

Future products based on the architecture will maintain software compatibility with National's current market leading integrated processors for information appliances.

The GeodeLink architecture is the latest development of National's proven Geode x86-based technology targeting thin clients, set-top boxes, personal Internet access devices and residential gateways.

Breaking away from traditional design methodologies to improve efficiency, it is specifically designed to tackle the power and performance bottlenecks of today's Internet access devices.

"This technological breakthrough is National's answer to the escalating requirements of the information appliance market.

The GeodeLink architecture will make future information appliances more powerful in performance, more power-efficient, richer in features and more affordable", said Mike Polacek, vice president of information appliance division at National Semiconductor.

"Customers will be able to apply products based on the GeodeLink architecture in very exciting multimedia-intensive applications that provide users with an enriched Internet experience".

National has employed many performance-boosting and power-saving techniques in the development of the GeodeLink architecture, including optimised unified memory architecture (UMA), distributed switched fabric interconnect and active hardware power management (AHPM).

Optimised UMA enables microprocessors to achieve optimal performance with up to 2Gbyte/s memory bandwidth while lowering overall system cost by using only one memory interface.

The memory controller supports 32 and 64bit at 133MHz SDRAM and 266MHz DDR-SDRAM, respectively, making the GeodeLink technology the highest performance solution in the market for information appliances for the foreseeable future.

The GeodeLink technology's capability to enable high performance is coupled with its intense attention given to power efficiency.

Using hardware to actively monitor the system and adjust clocking as necessary, AHPM allows designers to take advantage of power management immediately with minimum software work.

Additionally, power management events are handled using system management mode.

This software layer lies beneath and is independent of the operating system.

Key features of the GeodeLink architecture include on-chip support for microprocessors and high performance peripherals.

This architecture provides software reusability via a virtual PCI approach.

This allows legacy PCI drivers developed for discrete components to function seamlessly when the IP is integrated onto a single chip.

The GeodeLink architecture impacts design methodology at every level: RTL design, hardware/software development, layout and test.

Reducing the risk of adding or deleting IP and efficiently decoupling of IP development allow National to more quickly develop and verify new products based on market and customer needs.

Furthermore, the new architecture's on-chip development support allows customers to more easily debug software on the highly integrated solutions.

The GeodeLink architecture provides in-circuit emulation, branch trace messaging and other advanced development features.

National announced last April that it had licensed TriMedia's TM32A media processor core for advanced digital consumer products.

Because the GeodeLink architecture enables efficient integration of external IP, the TriMedia core will be integrated into National's Geode processors via the GeodeLink architecture.

The new architecture will enable software reuse for existing TriMedia drivers and codecs as well as an efficient UMA implementation, reducing time-to-market, cost and total system power.

National plans to ship samples of high performance, low-power products based on the GeodeLink architecture in the third quarter of 2001 with volume production in the first half of 2002.

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