Buzz #18 11 октября 1999

Elbrus - Elbrus Babayan and Pentium Pentkovskogo (a sensational article about the new Russian processor).

             Elbrus Babayan and Pentium Pentkovskogo



   Prospective microprocessor E2k (Elbrus-2000)
developed by the Russian company Elbrus, has received wide
prominence only recently, after the article China Difendorffa 
"Russian Go "in the February issue of the leading Western 
publications in the field microprocessor architectures 
"Microprocessor Report". 

The main theses of the article:


   o the new processor should show 3-5 times higher

     performance, consume less power and be

     cheaper to produce than Intel Merced;

   o Elbrus team has quite a good reputation and experience,

     to actually produce such a processor;

   o Elbrus computers that implement the basic modern archi
     tekturnye principles, was started long before

     ideas on this subject appeared in the West;

   o processor Elbrus-3 was built in 1991 on a very

     old, even in those days, crystal technology, but

     productivity is twice Cray.;

   o technological innovations E2K just as impressive as

     Architectural: E2K sells better circuitry than that

     which is used in the record holder of the last time, about
     Alpha 21264 core processor;

   o E2K CMOS technology with low power will allow

     the next 2-3 years to have a "supercomputer in the pocket 
electron      polaron notepad ";


   o in the field of compilers Elbrus team no less qualified
     synchronize, than in the development of architecture, or 
electronic projects      tirovanii: parallelizing compiler E2K 
now 

     time reaches the figure of 10 operations per cycle, which 
almost      Tea is three times higher than the industry's best 
compiler Alpha; 

   o interpretation mode E2K microprocessor executes code

     Intel and Sun only 10-30% slower than his own
     LIMITED (for comparison, the package FX! 32, executing 
process code      ditch Intel computers Alpha, slowing 
performance in the 3 

     times), with E2K achieves 100% binary sovmes
     invertibility for any codes for Intel for any operator
     tion systems, which distinguishes E2K on the same FX! 32;

   o E2k important feature is the "impenetrable" defense of the 
Executive      equate codes and data from viruses, the 
development of this direction      resistivity was broken in 
the West, along with the failure of a microprocessor      sor 
Intel 432. 


   The fact that Russia has developed a processor for its
opportunities potentially exceeding Merced, told
media around the world. The Internet does not subside
discussions on this topic. On Elbrus E2k highly revoked
recognized by many Western experts on microprocessors. By
their opinion, Russia's microprocessor incorporated unique ideas
with a great future.


   Earlier this year, Elbrus completed logical
design of the processor and all system software
software. On the exact model E2k estimates were obtained
performance. Now to the final stage - moving
architecture on the crystal.


   This article summarizes the history of computers family
Elbrus, talked about domestic priorities to some
architectural solutions that are widely used in modern
microprocessors. After all, the study of history often allows 
clearer see the future.


                             Elbrus


   The name of Elbrus connected with the history of the world's 
computing industry. Elbrus company was formed based on the 
behalf of ITM CT SA Lebedeva (Institute of Precision Mechanics 
and Computer Technology, which team had for over 40 years

developed supercomputers for defense systems of the Soviet
Union). The processor E2k embodied and develop ideas
Russian supercomputer Elbrus-3, built in 1991.
Today, architecture Elbrus-3 usually referred to EPIC
(Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing - calculate the 
apparent parallel teams).



   According to Boris A. Babayan, Chief Architect
Elbrus supercomputer line, superscalar architecture was
invented in Russia: "In 1978, we made the first
superscalar machine, Elbrus-1. Now in the West do
superskalyary just such an architecture. First superskalyar on
West appeared in the 92nd year in our 78th. Moreover, the 
variant superskalyara, which we did, similar to the Pentium Pro,

that Intel made in the 95th year. "


   Confirm the historical primacy of Elbrus and in America. In
The same article of the Microprocessor Report Keith Difendorff,
developer Motorola 88110, one of the first western
superscalar processors, writes: "In 1978, almost 15 years
before there were the first Western superscalar processors,
Elbrus-1 in the processor and issue two instructions per
one step, changing the order of execution of commands by 
renaming registers and the execution of hypothesis. "



   In 1991, in Mount Elbrus (then ITM CT) visited Mr. Rozenbladt
(Peter Rosenbladt) from the company Hewlett-Packard, and 
received full documentation on the Elbrus-3. It later emerged 
that That's when HP started a project that led to the joint 
with Intel development of EPIC-processor Merced. Its 
architecture is very similar to Elbrus-3, and the differences 
are mainly related to the simplifications made the 
microprocessor from Intel. 


   According to BA Babaian, Peter Rozenbladt offered
collaboration with HP. But Babayan has chosen Sun (the first 
meeting with Sun took the leadership back in 1989). And in 
1991, with the Sun was contract. From the official 
representatives of Sun know Elbrus participated in the 
development of microprocessor UltraSPARC, optimizing compilers, 
operating systems (in including Solaris), tools Java, 
multimedia libraries. 


   Initially the project E2k sponsored by Sun. Now
project is fully independent, all intellectual property
it belongs to Elbrus and is protected by some 70 th patent
USA. BA Babayan says, "If we continue to work with Sun to
this area, all belonged to Sun. Although 90% of the work was
performed before the advent of Sun ".


   The Sun from 1992 to 1995 Elbrus worked with the famous
microprocessor architect Dave Dietzel. It tells the
BA Babayan, "Then, Dave formed his own company - Transmeta
and began work on the machine, very similar to ours. We
continue to maintain close contact with Dietzel. Yes, and he
really wants to cooperate with us. "About the future product 
Transmeta yet little is known. It is known that the VLIW / EPIC 
processor with low-power binary compatibility with x86

provides dynamic translation of object code.


   And recently I found out that the development of Elbrus are
direct relation to the most common now
general-purpose microprocessor - the x86 family firm Intel.


                          Pentium


   Domestic supercomputer expertise implemented in
microprocessors Pentium. A former employee of ITM CT Vladimir
Pentkovsky is now a leading developer
microprocessor company Intel. Together with Pentkovskim at Intel
got vast experience and advanced technologies developed in
ITM CT. According to China Difendorffa, computers, Elbrus, in
that implement the basic principles of modern architecture,
such as SMP, superscalar and EPIC architecture, began
produced long before the ideas on this subject started only
discussed in the West.


   All the system software Elbrus-1 and Elbrus-2
was created using a programming language of high
El-76 level, rather than the traditional assembly. El-76 Recalls
language Algol-68, the principal difference, perhaps, is
dynamic binding types in the El-76, which is supported by
hardware level. El-76 is both a language
application programming, task management, system
programming. Elbrus in assembler is not used - only
high-level programming. El-76 before execution
translated into bytecode in the manner of Java. This bytecode 
on the fly hardware broadcast in simple machine instructions.



   In ITM CT Vladimir Pentkovsky participated in the development
supercomputer Elbrus-1 (1978) and Elbrus-2 (1984). In 1986
he headed the project 32-bit microprocessor El-90. K
1987 logical design of future microprocessors was
completed, and in 1990 produced the first prototypes. In El-90
combined the concept of RISC architecture and Elbrus-2.


    __
The main characteristics of Al-90:


   o issuance of up to three instructions per clock cycle

   o 32-bit architecture

   o simplified instruction set (compared to Mount Elbrus-2), 
more      nstvo commands are executed in one cycle


   o hardware support for high-level programming languages
     AE

   o pursuant to the assumption

   o change in the order execution of commands

   o branch prediction

   o register renaming

   o separate instruction and data caches of 32KB

   o pipelined arithmetic unit of the real

   o multi-level memory hierarchy, cache of the first and

     second level

   o Support of multiprocessor (10 processors)

   o support for debugging and performance monitoring

   o Mode "ultra-reliable computing (multi-processors are not
     independently produce calculations and compare results, and

     If the results do again). This mode

     needed, because used in cell Elbrus

     base was not sufficiently reliable for some of the 
military in      plications.



   In 1990 Pentkovsky began work on the Al-91S, a follower
El-90. But after a change in Russia's political and economic
system, funding for the development has stopped. For the period 
from 1991 to 1999 Pentkovsky lost from our sight.

Once again his name appears in the Intel Technology Journal. 
According to Annex "biography of the developers" to the article 
on Pentium III microprocessor architecture

(Http://developer.intel.com/technology/itj/q21999/articles/art_2
who.htm # pentkovski), Vladimir Pentkovsky is the chief 
architect of Pentium III. 


   I would also like to recall that in 1993 Intel introduced
a radically new 32-bit processor Pentium. Here
Some of its features:


   o Pentium instruction decoder replaces the x86 instruction 
simple RISC      such that the processor can effectively 
obrabaty      vat


   o superscalar architecture with the issuance of up to two 
instructions per clock cycle 

   o branch prediction

   o separate instruction and data caches

   o pipelined block floating point

   o multi-level memory hierarchy, cache of the first and

     second level

   o Support of multiprocessor (2 CPU)

   o support for debugging and performance monitoring

   o Mode "ultra-reliable computing" - two of the Pentium

     perform the same calculation and compare the results -

     If the results do in new ways.

Is not it, between the Pentium and Al-90 is very much in common?


   It may be that the Pentium processor is called by the name 
of his Developer Vladimir Pentkovskogo. Indeed, in 1995

Company Intel has a better processor Pentium Pro,
which is already closely approached by the opportunities to
Russian microprocessor 1990. In the Pentium Pro has been 
improved instruction decoder x86, improved superscalar core,

added performance by assumption, the change order
command execution, register renaming, improved block
operations with real numbers.


   Today, the previous chief Pentkovskogo, Boris Babayan,
Intel intends to oppose the development of the company noveyshu
Elbrus, the processor E2k.

E2k


   Microprocessor Elbrus E2k with EPIC architecture designs
domestic company Elbrus International (www.elbrus.ru).
The project is led Corresponding Member of RAS, BA Babayan. 
Repetitive Production will start in 2001, provided sufficient

funding. We can assume that at the beginning of 2000 will be
implemented a prototype E2k. Moreover, it is possible that it 
will produced on the mini-factory in Moscow. Now there is a 
processor as a description on the specialized language of 
Verilog, a description is the final step of logical design,

the next stage of Verilog-description is transferred to the 
crystal. Already ready the entire set of system software E2k. He

includes a parallelizing compiler and binary
compiler package x86. About two years ago Elbrus
demonstrated performance of MS Windows 95 and MS games
FlightSimulator on a Sun workstation with an UltraSPARC.
By all accounts Elbrus E2k should surpass U.S.
development. E2k will have higher performance
lower power and smaller die size. At the same time
software binary translation provides a complete
compatibility with x86 code with almost no loss in performance
Compared with native code E2k. By the way, languages
Programming C and C + + static types to E2k may
find new and interesting properties - hardware-supported
type dynamics, and context protection.


   Russian development corporation interested in Microsoft,
for operating systems which are likely to be very handy
performance E2k. Legend of the computer world Gordon Bell
(Gordon Bell), who, working in DEC, created a computer lines
PDP and VAX, and now heads the research unit
Microsoft (Telepresence Research Group), promotes the project
Elbrus E2k at international conferences.


   His lecture titled "The next decade
Supercomputing "(The Next Ten Years in Supercomputing) May 26
1999, opened the International Symposium on
High Performance Computing (International Symposium on
High Performance Computing) in Japan, June 10 - fourteenth
Manheymovskuyu Supercomputing Conference (Mannheim
Supercomputer Conference) in Germany. Both times, Dr. Bell of 
the lectures devoted to the story of the E2k. In a slide titled 
"Russian Elbrus E2K "he gives a table which evaluates E2k and 
Merced. A comparison shows clearly not in favor of the 
offspring of Intel. 


   Below is a table from the report of Gordon Bell.



    Microprocessor E2K Merced


    Clock frequency, 1.2 GHz, 0.8


    Productivity,

    SPECint95 / SPECfp95 135 / 350 45 / 70


    Crystal size, mm 2 126 300


    Power consumption, W 35 60


    Capacity

    tires, GB / sec 15 N / A


    Cache (KB) 64 / 256 N / A


    Peak

    performance

    GFLOPS 10.2 N / A


    Scheduled time of the fourth quarter N / A

    deliveries began in 2001



   Gordon Bell (www.research.microsoft.com / users / gbell / 
bio.htm) is not only a senior officer of Microsoft, but

and influential in the computing world as a consultant and
entrepreneur. He created several private companies involved in
development of promising technologies.

Conclusion


   Elbrus E2k project already has the scientific and technical 
weight - in fact developed many new and interesting 
architectural solutions created a new generation of advanced 
compilers. And E2k means that Russia has retained top-class 
specialists. Professor BA Babayan and other members of Elbrus 
is taught in Russian universities, therefore, more specialists 
will be added. 


   Therefore, it seems to me that the project has failed, 
regardless of from sales in the gland. Although, perhaps, 
Elbrus with me agree on the part of the implementation - and 
sells. 


              Alex Pylkin (pylkin@ssd.sscc.ru), ICMMG

                                Posted - July 5, 1999

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