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Project: Linux  Opinions
Itanium - The next big leap for Linux
By Prakash Advani <prakash@NOSPAMfreeos.com>
Posted: ( 2000-12-19 09:18:09 EST by )
Previously, if you wanted 64-bit computing power, you would have had to
choose one of the proprietary 64-bit platforms. Linux does run on several
of these but it is not the first choice for the enterprise on these
platforms. The Itanium is expected to change all that and cement Linux's
position at the top-end of the corporate segment.
Processor technology has come a long way. Right from 4 and 8-bit
processors to the latest 32-bit processors. They have all been significant
in powering the computers. Processors also define the architecture and
computing standards. Since the age of 386 processors, Intel has been
lugging on to 32-bit computing. 64-bit computing in going to be the next
leap in computers and 64-bit processors and operating systems are going to
play a significant role in powering the computers of the future. 64-bit computing has been around for a while now. Several of the IT
vendors tout it as a competitive edge. As companies process larger
amounts of data and maintain bigger databases, 64-bit computing may become
a necessity. Most of the 64-bit solutions that were available were
expensive because they were proprietary and few vendors offered solutions
for these. To make things more difficult for IT managers, each of these
64-bit solutions was based on different processors and hence was not
compatible. Each of these vendors has their own 64-Bit processor and their
own operating system to go along with it.
The Intel's upcoming IA-64 processor - Itanium is likely to change all
this. Even though a little late in the day and likely to get delayed
further, Intel is known to define standards. Almost all the vendors are
going to build systems based on this new processor. Most of the vendors
are already working on 64-bit servers and workstations. It will a while
before this kind of processing power is needed at the desktop but it will
definitely be a promising technology for high end servers. The Itanium will give Linux a big boost and Linux in return will
compliment the Itanium. To fully derive the benefits of 64-bit processors
it is necessary to have 64-bit operating systems and applications. Since
there was already a 64-bit port of Linux available for the Alpha platform,
it wasn't very difficult to port Linux to another 64-bit platform. Linux
was the first OS to boot on this processor and major vendors, in porting
Linux applications to take advantage of the 64-bit processor, are doing a
lot of work. A lot of the enterprise features that were previously seen in
mainframe systems are now expected to be available on the Linux platform. Intel has also gone a step further and released the internal working of
the yet to be launched processor to the public. This is a very significant
development for the Linux community as the kernel can be optimized to run
very well on this processor. In fact the Trillian Project is a
co-operative development between different vendors to create a unified
version of Linux for the Itanium processor. Their goal is to make the port
available at the same time that Intel launches the new processor. The
project also wants to ensure that existing 32-bit applications run
seamlessly in the 64-bit environment. A lot of code optimization is also
being carried out to ensure that Linux runs faster than other operating
systems. Partners in the projects such as SuSE, Red Hat, Caldera and Turbo Linux
are also working towards 64-bit Linux distributions. Other partners such
as VA Linux want to ensure that their systems are the best platforms to
run Linux. Both the Linux operating system and the Itanium processor are important
developments for the future of computing. If your organization plans to
deploy either of these solutions, you are going to have a significant
competitive advantage, but if you deploy both these technologies you can
have the best of both words -- a very powerful processor and an operating
system which can fully harness the power of the processor. Prakash Advani is the CEO of FreeOS.com and can be reached at
prakash@freeos.com
Trillian project
Other articles by Prakash Advani
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