IBM Cell/B.E.™ Processors

Mentor Graphics provides a full complement of embedded system development support for application using IBM Cell/B.E. processors, including:

Nucleus OS - Real-Time Kernel and Middleware

The Cell/B.E. Processor is an excellent target for Nucleus OS. The Cell processor is a high performance, heterogeneous multicore device with a 64-bit Power Processor Element (PPE) that acts as a control processor, allocating data intensive tasks to multiple high performance SIMD Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs).

System Performance is maximized through efficient Operating System resource usage provided by the fast real-time Nucleus OS kernel. Task allocation to the SPEs is tightly managed and driven by high-speed DMA access. Low interrupt latency and deterministic scheduling yield hard real-time performance for the Cell/B.E. Processor.

Nucleus OS benefits are a mature kernel, extensive middleware support, and the worldwide acceptance demonstrated by its inclusion in billions of products from thousands of customers worldwide.

Nucleus OS for Cell/B.E. includes:

  • Complete real-time operating system
    • Kernel and Protected Application Models
    • Nucleus PLUS and POSIX APIs
    • SPE Register access
    • Integrated IBM LIBSPE2 support
    • Static and Dynamic SPE operation
    • Nucleus Middleware Available

EDGE Developer Suite for Cell

Developer Suite for Cell/B.E processors, is based on Eclipse, and includes:

  • EDGE IDE - Project manager, builder and editor
  • Integration of IBM XL C/C++ compiler - Linux host
  • EDGE Debugger - Comprehensive source level debugger with advanced features for Cell/B.E.
    • Integration with IBM Full System Simulator
    • Upgraded Multicore GDB Monitor for multicore access
    • Source level debug for APE code
    • SPE Event Visualization ? Hot Spot Analysis
    • Customizable Codelets, EDGE Channels, Viewers
  • EDGE Hot Spot Analysis - Supports visualization of SPE performance measurement
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