Date: 16/12/2008

36-core processor for mid-range embedded applications

TILEPro36 processor from a start up firm Tilera Corporation packs in 36 processor cores and feature comparably low power consumption at a breakthrough performance. Consumes less than 10 watts in power-sensitive applications.

Leveraging the scalable iMesh 2-dimensional core interconnect, Tilera's revolutionary Dynamic Distributed Cache (DDC) technology delivers highly scalable cache coherency, accelerating threaded and shared memory applications across many cores.

The TILEPro processors also feature the sophisticated TileDirect I/O system that enables the high-performance interfaces to coherently deliver packet streams directly into tile cache, eliminating costly trips to main memory. This is particularly critical in applications that demand wire-speed performance for minimum size packets.

TILEPro processors are equipped with specialized instruction set extensions for audio and video signal processing that deliver up to 2X improvement in multimedia workloads such as codecs and High-Definition video compression processing.

Tilera provides Multicore Development Environment (MDE) to speed up the software development.

The key features of this multi core processor are,

1. The TILEPro36 offers system-on-a-chip capabilities with integrated memory controllers and rich I/O to save on cost and printed circuit board real estate.
2. 36 full-featured processor cores, each with integrated L1 and L2 cache
3. 3.2 MBytes on-chip cache
4. Three 72-bit DDR2 memory interfaces (selectable ECC)
5. Two 10/100/1000 Ethernet interfaces
6. 10 Gbps XAUI Ethernet interface
7. 4-lane PCI Express interface
8. 5 Gbps of Snort deep packet Intrusion Prevention (IPS)
9. 3 streams of H.264 1080p encode plus 4 streams decode (videoconference quality)
10. Five channels of wireless OFDM processing

Suggested applications areas for this device

Intelligent Networking Appliances:
1. Unified Threat Management (UTM)
2. Intrusion detection/prevention (IDS/IPS)
3. Network monitoring and forensics

Digital Multimedia Applications:
1. Videoconference endpoints
2. Video editing
3. Multimedia content distribution systems

Wireless Infrastructure:
1. 3G, WiMAX, and LTE baseband radio
2. Base station controllers
3. GGSN, SGSN and media gateways

More information on Tilera can be found on its web site: www.tilera.com

Availability: Now in samples
Price: Not disclosed