AMD新款APU中将整合ARM Cortex-A5核心

超微(AMD)宣布，将在该公司的加速处理单元(APU)中采用 ARM 的 Cortex-A5 CPU核心，以打造一个全新的安全处理器平台。该公司表示，内含 ARM 核心的新产品预计明年就绪。 最近几个月以来，业界一直揣测 AMD 开始整合 ARM 核心的可能性，这也是首度在单芯片中同时整合 x86 和 ARM 这两大竞争架构。AMD资深副总裁暨信息长 Mike Wolfe 表示， ARM 的这项授权是该公司与 AMD 策略合作的一部份，旨在强化 AMD APU 的安全性能。 Wolfe 表示， AMD 与 ARM 的协议在很大程度上是因为它想ARM的TrustZone安全技术纳入其未来的APU。 AMD原本打算为其APU开发自有安全平台，但最终该公司认为，应该多从客户观点考量，选择业界标准解决方案TrustZone。TrustZone技术于2004年问世，目前已经具备完整的生态系统。

左边是AMD的Phil Rogers.右边是ARM的Jem Davies
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“我们希望能将ARM的TrustZone技术延伸到x86产品上，”Wolfe说。 AMD 和 ARM 之间的授权协议一直是业界深感兴趣的话题，因为 ARM 的执行长曾经在2011年的AMD Fusion开发者高峰会上发表谈话──这味着以英特尔为首的x86阵营，以及ARM架构之间的争斗态势已出现转变。以英特尔为主的x86架构长期支配着 PC市场，而强调能效的ARM架构则立宰着行动世界。 “在某些方面，ARM和AMD可说是完全处于对立，”AMD院士Leendert van Doom。“但我认为，在未来的运算世代，我们的关系将与过去截然不同。” 但Wolfe表示，这项合作并不能决定ARM架构与x86之间的未来发展。“我们相信，未来几年内，x86仍然会是资料中心领域的主导架构。” 今年二月份，AMD CEO Rory Read曾经暗示，为了让该公司的架构策略更加‘灵活’，AMD可能会取得ARM的授权。四月份，ARM CEO Warren East指出，该公司正在努力说服AMD采用ARM的处理器。East表示，AMD是在重新考量其策略后签署了授权协议。 Van Doom指出，AMD计划明年开始供应内含Cortex-A5核心的APU。依照规划，首批产品将会是2013年推出的G系列APU，主要用在平板和超薄计算机中，到2014年，该公司所有APU都将内含ARM核心。 Wolfe和Van Doom 表示，TrustZone可提供监控能力，有助于防止恶意存取，能保护敏感资料，能在硬件层运作。他们也列举了几个最近登上报纸头条的病毒新闻，以强调运算环境对安全功能的需求。 编译： Joy Teng 本文下一页：参考英文原文：AMD to integrate ARM core into APUs，by Dylan McGrath

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{pagination} AMD to integrate ARM core into APUs Dylan McGrath BELLEVUE, Wash.—Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) will develop a platform security processor using an ARM Cortex-A5 CPU for inclusion in accelerated processing units (APUs) that will be available starting next year, the company said Wednesday (June 13). The move, which had been speculated on in recent months, means that for the first time rival x86 and ARM architectures will be integrated together in a monolithic ICs. The ARM license is part of a larger strategic partnership between AMD and ARM to enhance the security features of ARM's APUs, according to Mike Wolfe, AMD senior vice president and chief information officer. Wolfe said AMD made the deal with ARM largely because it wanted to incorporate ARM's TrustZone security technology into its future APUs. AMD originally planned to develop its own security platform for APUs, but ultimately determined it made more sense from a customer perspective to go with an industry-standard solution, TrustZone, that has been around since 2004 and is backed by a comprehensive ecosystem. "We wanted to leverage ARM's TrustZone and extend it into the x86 space," Wolfe said. The license deal between AMD and ARM—which has been the subject of speculation since an ARM executive spoke at AMD's 2011 Fusion Developer Summit—represents a seismic shift in the battle between Intel Corp.'s x86 architecture and the ARM architecture, developed and marketed by UK-based ARM Holdings plc. Intel's x86, which AMD licenses from Intel, has long been the dominant architecture in the PC space, while the power-thrifty ARM architecture rules the mobile world. "In certain ways, ARM and AMD make strange bedfellows," said Leendert van Doom, an AMD corporate Fellow. "But I think we are in this new world with different relationships." Wolfe said the deal should not be interpreted as a statement about the ARM architecture versus x86. "We believe x86 is still going to be the dominant architecture in the data center for years to come," he said. AMD CEO Rory Read hinted in February that AMD could take an ARM license as part of "an ambidextrous" strategy with regard to architectures. In April, ARM CEO Warren East said the firm was working to persuade AMD to license ARM processors. East said AMD had recently signaled it was rethinking its strategy and could be more open to the idea of taking an ARM license. Van Doom said AMD plans to offer its first APUs incorporating the Cortex-A5 core next year. The scheme will first be implemented in G-Series APUs for tablets and ultrathin PCs in 2013, then implemented across the firm's APU product line in 2014, he said. Wolfe and van Doom said the appeal of TrustZone was its ability to monitor and help protect against malicious access to sensitive data and operations at the hardware level. They cited examples, including the Flame virus that recently made headlines, to support the need for robust security. ARM's TrustZone technology is described as a system-wide approach to security that was implemented as a result of ongoing co-development between ARM and a wide range of companies. The technology has been implemented in billions of devices.