Ni Guangnan's concern is happening: the "root" of the chip is being held

Tech 2023-06-01 22:21:50 Source: Network

Andy Lau - World First Class. mp34:19From technology without any issuesRecently, Baode Computer Systems Co

Andy Lau - World First Class. mp34:19

From technology without any issues

Recently, Baode Computer Systems Co., Ltd. launched Baode Powerstar chips based on x86 architecture at a grand press conference. Baode Group Chairman Li Ruijie also stated at the conference that the annual sales target for the first generation of Baode processors is 1.5 million chips.

However, careful netizens have found that this much-hyped hardcore processor actually seems to be just a re branding of Intel's 10th generation processor.

According to reports from foreign technology media Wccftech, according to test data, this processor is highly consistent with Intel's 10th generation Core i3-10105 processor in terms of performance data. That is to say, the actual appearance of the core processor may be Intel's Core i3-10105.

However, it should be pointed out that this does not mean that Baode purchased Intel processors and then re labeled them. In fact, both parties may have already reached a deep cooperative relationship. But whether it's collaboration or licensing, an undeniable fact is still before us: the "root" underlying architecture of chips!

Academician Ni Guangnan has repeatedly called for attention to architecture issues and stated that China's existing pattern of multiple CPU architectures coexisting is difficult to gain a competitive advantage. In recent years, multiple events have been exposed, indicating that Ni Guangnan's concerns are not unfounded and are happening.

As we all know, the underlying architecture of CPU plays an important role in the chip industry chain. Its importance is not only reflected in the performance of CPU, but also has a significant impact on the training of design talents, the research and development of EDA (electronic design automation) tools, the construction of chip IP library and application ecology.

In addition, CPU architecture also involves multiple stages such as chip production, testing, and packaging. Therefore, it can be said that CPU architecture is the "foundation" of the entire chip industry and plays a crucial role in promoting the development of the entire industry.

The production of mainstream CPUs in the world market will still be monopolized by two companies, namely x86 and ARM.

X86 is a CPU architecture introduced by Intel in the 1970s, initially applied to personal computers and servers. Nowadays, the x86 architecture has become the most widely used architecture in desktop computers and servers. The x86 architecture adopts CISC (Complex Instruction Set) technology, which has a complex instruction set but fast computational speed.

Currently, both Intel and AMD are CPU manufacturers based on x86 architecture. The x86 architecture holds over 90% of the market share in the PC market and has become the main CPU architecture in the market.

The ARM architecture was developed by ARMHoldings, a UK based company, and is widely used in mobile devices, the Internet of Things, embedded systems, and other fields. This architecture adopts RISC (Reduced Instruction Set) technology, which is relatively simple but easy to optimize and save energy consumption. In the field of mobile devices, ARM architecture applications are very popular, and the market share also exceeds 90%. Famous manufacturers such as Huawei, Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm, and MediaTek all use ARM based processor chips.

The current status of the underlying architecture of chip enterprises in China

Domestic CPU manufacturers have developed into six mainstream manufacturers, including Longxin, Feiteng, Kunpeng, Haiguang, Shenwei, and Zhaoxin. The instruction set of CPUs can be divided into two categories: Complex Instruction Set (CISC) and Reduced Instruction Set (RISC). Represented by the x86 architecture is the complex instruction set, while the reduced instruction set includes architectures such as ARM, MIPS, Alpha, and Power.

The CPU architectures of mainstream domestic manufacturers are: Zhongke Longxin adopts MIPS architecture, Tianjin Feiteng adopts ARM architecture, Haiguang Information adopts X86 architecture, Shanghai Shenwei adopts Alpha architecture, Shanghai Zhaoxin adopts X86 architecture, and Huawei Kunpeng adopts ARM architecture.

That is to say, it is still difficult for mainstream processor manufacturers in China to break free from the monopoly of the underlying architecture,Once ARM and X86 want to cut off supply, domestic manufacturers will face huge difficulties. And such things are already happening.

For exampleAlthough Huawei has purchased the permanent use rights of ARMV8, it has been disconnected from the V9 version. AdditionallyHaiguang Information and Shanghai Zhaoxin, as representatives of X86, have spent a lot of money and obtained authorization, but recently there have been reports that subsequent versions of X86 have stopped authorizing Chinese enterprises.

In addition, ARM and X86 architectures have recently strengthened authorization policies, further limiting the independent research and development space of chip design companies. ARM has made adjustments to its authorization policy. In the future, after granting CortexCPU computing cores to customers, they will no longer be able to use their own CPUs, image signal processors, and other components.

At the same time, Intel has also launched a new architecture technology called "x86S", which will give it more control over the architecture kernel. These measures will force chip design manufacturers to follow up and complete corresponding compatibility and adaptation processing.

So it's really like Academician Ni Guangnan'sworryThat way, the West holds the root of the chip! And continue to let foreign monopolies continue? Is there no way to break the game?

Actually, it's not entirely true. At present, domestic manufacturers are accelerating the layout of self-developed architectures. We have gradually prepared from three aspects, but it will take some time. But once we truly enter the stage of being caught in a trap, we believe we can have a quick solution to take action.

Firstly, Shanghai Shenwei, which mainly provides processors for the military and supercomputing market, independently developed the controllable Shenwei 64 architecture after the first generation CPU of Alpha architecture. Based on this autonomous architecture, Shenwei processors have been launched. However, the ecology in the civilian and general computing fields is relatively weak, and currently it is not yet time to popularize them.

In addition, in 2021, Longxin Company announced the successful development of the LongArch architecture, which is completely autonomous from the top-level architecture to the instruction set and ABI standard. This marks that Longxin Zhongke's future CPU technology is no longer entirely dependent on the MIPS instruction set structure, achieving 100% autonomy and controllability, and completely breaking away from dependence on foreign architectures. However, due to the limited number of adapter manufacturers, the autonomous ecosystem still needs time to settle. But once needed,With the continuous addition of adapter manufacturers, it is believed that LongArch's position will continue to rise.

Finally, Academician Ni Guangnan has been calling for attention to the RISC-V architecture,RISC-V is completely open source, which means that anyone can freely use and modify it, and freely design and manufacture chips that are compatible with it. There is no possibility of supply interruption or cessation of authorization.Currently, multiple enterprises and institutions, including Alibaba Pingtouge, Huawei, ZTE, Tencent, Him Computing, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have participated in the project. And it is highly likely to become the third mainstream architecture dominated by Chinese enterprises.

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