The Cell Processor, developed by IBM, Toshiba and Sony Group, is a breakthrough architectural design featuring eight synergistic processing elements plus a Power Architectureâ„¢-based core that provides unmatched performance levels in many computationally intense applications.
Cell Broadband Engine Documentation Key documents that describe technical details of the revolutionary Cell Broadband Engine architecture. The documents are available at www.ibm.com/developerworks/power/cell and http://cell.scei.co.jp. Toshiba will release the documents once it completes its customer support structure.
By opening up a wide set of detailed technical specifications to software developers, business partners, academic and research organizations, and potential customers, IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba continue their work to aggressively stimulate the creation of Cell-based applications. The goal: establish a thriving community of interest and innovation around Cell, allowing all interested parties to rapidly evaluate and utilize Cell technology.
Development Software for Cell Broadband Engine Microprocessor The Cell Broadband Engine (CBE) Software Development Kit enables developers to explore the capabilities of the CBEA technology using the following software and documents:
- IBM Full System Simulator for the CBE Processor -- The IBM Full System Simulator executable provides a rich set of capabilities for architecture simulation of the CBE processor. The extensive set of simulation services available are capable of booting and running an operating system as well as applications targeted to the CBE processor. This is the very same simulator used by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM to evaluate the architecture design point and prepare a full execution stack for trial runs on the first CBE processor.
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Cell BE Computer from IBM IBM® introduced a blade computing system based on the Cell Broadband Engine™ (Cell BE). The IBM branded Cell BE-based system is designed for businesses that need the dense computing power and unique capabilities of the Cell BE processor to tackle tasks involving graphic-intensive, numeric applications.
IBM and Rambus Sign a Technology License Agreement Rambus Inc. has signed a technology license agreement with IBM®. This agreement allows IBM to build Cell Broadband Engine (Cell BE) processors and companion chips using Rambus’ FlexIO™ processor bus and XDR™ memory interface technologies. Rambus’ high-speed FlexIO and XDR interfaces in combination with IBM’s advanced process technology will enable Cell BE system customers to maximize the performance of high-volume consumer products, servers and high-performance computing systems.
Cell Based Supercomputer, IBM
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has selected IBM to design and build the world's first supercomputer to harness the immense power of the Cell Broadband Engineâ„¢ (Cell B.E.) processor aiming to produce a machine capable of a sustained speed of up to 1,000 trillion calculations per second, or one petaflop. The 'hybrid' supercomputer, codenamed Roadrunner, will be installed at DOE's Los Alamos National Laboratory. In a first-of-a-kind design, Cell B.E. chips -- originally designed for video game platforms -- will work in conjunction with systems based on x86 processors from Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD).
IBM QS20 is a Cell BE-based blade system
IBM today announced that it is making its first computing system based on the Cell Broadband Engine (Cell BE) generally available on a global basis, with early adopters such as University of Manchester, RapidMind, Inc. and Fraunhofer Institute deploying compute-intensive applications on early ship versions. Cell-based Supercomputing Cluster In the fall of '05, Terra Soft was contacted by Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. (SCEI) to develop and manage a supercomputing cluster built upon the IBM Cell Broadband Engine and the Linux OS. This spring, Terra Soft was contracted by Sony and in August completed the construction of a 3000 sq-ft supercomputing facility capable of housing 2400 1U systems. In this remodeled extension to the Loveland, Colorado headquarters, Terra Soft will construct a test cluster and a substantially larger production cluster.
Cell Broadband Engine at 65 Nm IBM announced today that the company has begun producing a new, 65 nanometer (nm) version of the Cell Broadband Engine at IBM's state-of-the-art East Fishkill, New York microchip production facility.
The revolutionary Cell chip, jointly developed by IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba, is effectively a supercomputer-on-a-chip, providing breakthrough performance for consumer electronics, medical imaging, design engineering and other graphics-intensive applications. In addition to serving as the digital heartbeat of Sony Computer Entertainment’s PLAYSTATION®3, the chip also appears in IBM’s BladeCenter servers.
Picture a surface that can recognize physical objects from a paintbrush to a cell phone and allows hands-on, direct control of content such as photos, music and maps. Today at the Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer will unveil Microsoft Surface™, the first in a new category of surface computing products from Microsoft that breaks down traditional barriers between people and technology. Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, dynamic surface that provides effortless interaction with all forms of digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. Beginning at the end of this year, consumers will be able to interact with Surface in hotels, retail establishments, restaurants and public entertainment venues.
Until now, industrial lasers have been able to perform only one specific task effectively – they are generally good at either hardening, cutting or welding metal. Moreover, they are often bulky and unwieldy. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden will be presenting a real multi-talent at Laser2007 in Munich: a fiber laser system that is capable of hardening, cutting, and even welding if required.
Earthrace continues its quest to break the world record for circumnavigation of the globe by a powerboat. Earthrace entered the Red Sea May 22 2007, with a Northern path towards the Suez Canal.
The Earthrace powerboat began its record attempt on April 7 from San Diego, California and must finish back in San Diego on or before 21 June to break the record of 75 days – set by the British boat Cable & Wireless in 1998.