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MIPS Technologies recently hosted the second MIPS Linux Summit in Santa Clara, California. The Summit was a forum for MIPS Linux developers to share insights on common issues and solutions, and to foster close cooperation and collaboration. The event brought together MIPS licensees and partners including representatives from Broadcom, Cavium Networks, Cisco Systems, CodeSourcery, Infineon, Mentor Graphics, MontaVista Software, Netlogic, PMC-Sierra, Sigma Designs, TimeSys, Viosoft, Wind River and Zoran, as well as folks from the broader embedded Linux community.
The Summit may be relatively new, but MIPS' involvement in the Linux community is well-known and respected. MIPS is active in Linux kernel development and working within the Linux community, providing innovative tools to aid development, debugging and profiling of Linux-based systems. MIPS is also a contributing member of the Linux Foundation and CE Linux Forum. Today, many companies, including Summit attendees, successfully deliver Linux-based systems running on MIPS-Based™ hardware.
"Linux is a key component of connected devices, and our commitment to Linux goes back almost a decade. The enthusiasm and dedication of MIPS Linux developers continues to inspire us, and we're looking forward to another year of innovation from this talented community," said Allen Watson, the MIPS Technologies Manager who arranged the Summit.
Presentations from MIPS included a glimpse into the company's corporate vision and strategy, as well as "Android and the Linux Kernel," and multiple technical presentations from MIPS' architecture team. Among these was a presentation by Director of Architecture David Lau on lightweight, cooperative threading, focusing on a way that the Linux kernel could be modified to support lightweight threading as available on the multi-threaded MIPS32® 34K™ core. Staff Architect James Hakewill discussed TLB choices for performance, and Staff Architect Ilie Garbacea presented on spin locks usage on MIPS32 34K and 1004K™ cores.
Other highlights included:
- A Decade of Embedded Linux – Vibrant, Relevant and Growing Strong Jim Zemlin, CEO of the Linux Foundation shared his views on how and why Linux and open source dominate device software today, and what the future holds for OSS and ubiquitous computing.
- Enhancing MIPS Linux for Jumbo Embedded Systems David VomLehn, Senior Staff O/S Software Engineer, Scientific Atlanta, A Cisco Company, featured Cisco's current line of set-top boxes based on MIPS Linux. With over 120 interrupt levels, up to 1 GB of memory, a cloud of a dozen processors assisting the Linux processor, and running 400+ threads, the system is on the high end of complexity for embedded systems.
- Report from the Trenches—Meeting MIPS Linux Development and Deployment Challenges Hieu Tran, CTO at Viosoft, discussed recommendations to help developers overcome challenges in developing and deploying devices and applications running Linux on MIPS.
- A panel moderated by Bill Weinberg, Analyst/Consultant at Linux Pundit and Olliance Group, focused on Adding Value to MIPS Linux—Commercial Development Solutions. The panel featured representatives from the leading commercial embedded Linux solutions providers, with a focus on how these suppliers add value to open source MIPS Linux. Weinberg also presented on What's Next? Trends in Embedded Linux and Opportunities for MIPS Linux.
The next Linux MIPS Summit will be held in the spring of 2010.
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