Re: Solaris to Itanium...

From: Keith Parris (keithparris_NOSPAM_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 07/30/04 

Date: 30 Jul 2004 07:57:46 -0700

JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@teksavvy.com> wrote in message news:<4109B330.57E07AFC@teksavvy.com>...
> Paul demone forgot to add that Sun is still developping sparc-4, and that
> Fujutsu is developping what will be the replacement for the cancelled sparc-5.
>
> So, sparc gets a could upgrades in its current generation, while the next
> generation will come from fujutsi.

Sun is merely putting two older core designs on the same chip
substrate. It has apparently given up on doing out-of-order processing
and SMT. Fujitsu isn't likely to attempt projects of that magnitude on
its own. And it's in the Itanium camp as well.

> I can't see why you or anyone would compare Sparc to Alpha

Because the symptoms (scaled-back plans on the proprietary chip side,
coupled with increasingly-visible focus on industry-standard
microprocessors) and the underlying causes (high expense of chip
development, coupled with poor financial state of the parent company)
are similar.

If it isn't clear to you yet, just wait -- it will become clearer over
time.

> Also, in terms of MIPS, have there been official "we doN't develoop anymore"
> statements ?

SGI purchased MIPS, and SGI's stated future direction is with Itanium.

>From Geek.com:
http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003Jun/bch20030620020488.htm
"MIPS found it increasingly difficult to fund CPU development, and
even SGI began to switch to Itanium-based systems
(http://www.sgi.com/servers/altix/). SGI has largely lost interest in
the fading MIPS architecture, and MIPS is now primarily an
intellectual property company, selling processors for the embedded
market. Even in this market, however, MIPS is rapidly losing
marketshare (http://www.siliconstrategies.com/story/OEG20030618S0015).
It appears as if MIPS' glory days are far behind, and that the future
is uncertain at best."

SGI just made a big Itanium-based system sale to NASA (10,240 CPUs).
>From ZDnet:
http://www.zdnetindia.com/techzone/linuxcentre/stories/107125.html
"SGI historically built computers using its MIPS processor and Irix
version of the Unix operating system, but it's been making a gradual
transition to Itanium and Linux. Although it continues to supply
MIPS-Irix systems to existing customers, most of the company's growth
and attention is tied to the Itanium-Linux products, SGI spokeswoman
Ginny Babbitt said."

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Project Ultraviolet: No IRIX?
    ... SGI decided for the Itanium. ... Sgi announced they would be moving to Itanium and would cut their MIPS ... > Porting IRIX to a different ...
    (comp.sys.sgi.misc)
  • Re: Why is SUN falling so far behind IBM?
    ... The CPU clock is quite irrelevant. ... bottlenecks while SGI works on resolving those instead. ... I would put forth that it's reasons like this why customers like ... > And that's where MIPS simply is behind all competition... ...
    (comp.unix.aix)
  • Re: Why is SUN falling so far behind IBM?
    ... Of course when comparing performance/clock cycle MIPS still ... The CPU clock is quite irrelevant. ... Yes, because SGI sold most of it's assets like Cray, Softimage, and also ... MIPS/IRIX sales are almost all just upgrade sales to the remaining existing ...
    (comp.unix.aix)
  • Re: [9fans] the old floppy set
    ... One way or another, the Sun sources are available; ... SGI bought MIPS, then spun them out again, but kept parts. ... described platforms even have modern equivalents in their line. ...
    (comp.os.plan9)
  • Re: Another one bites the dust
    ... > Can I have a 2048-CPU Itanium machine then? ... > No problem with MIPS. ... Ask SGI, they'll do you won if you have the dosh. ... > For scalability, SGI MIPS/IRIX is way ahead of everyone, by an order ...
    (comp.sys.sgi.misc)