– SimNow, a High-Performance x86 Platform Simulator, Extends Access to "Pacifica" Virtualization Technology -
SAN FRANCISCO -- August 9, 2005 --AMD
(NYSE:AMD) today announced the upcoming availability of SimNow, a
high-performance AMD64 simulator that provides software developers with
access to features of AMD’s next-generation processor technologies,
including AMD’s virtualization technology, code named "Pacifica."
SimNow is designed to enable software developers to emulate single- and
dual-core AMD Athlon™ 64 and AMD Opteron™ processor-based systems that
run commercial operating systems and applications, and to allow them to
write and test software in advance of the commercial availability of
processors implementing the features.
"AMD is demonstrating our strong support for the software development
community by making our high-performance AMD64 simulator, SimNow, free
to developers," said Joe Menard, corporate vice president, Software
Strategy, AMD. "By providing leading-edge tools and features to the ISV
community, and enabling access to next-generation technologies such as
‘Pacifica’ ahead of the commercial availability of next-generation
processors, we expect SimNow to enable a richer commercial and embedded
software ecosystem for AMD64 technology, the gold standard for 64-bit
computing."
"The SimNow Simulator is a significant factor behind superior SUSE
Linux support of the AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Opteron processors. Not only
does it allow us to develop for new chip designs prior to their
physical creation, it also provides us with important debug
capabilities, accelerating the process," said Eric Anderson, vice
president of engineering for Novell. "We are excited about AMD's
decision to make this tool available to a broader audience and are
looking forward to this new release of SimNow."
By making SimNow generally available, AMD is providing software
developers with a high-performance development tool that is designed to
allow them to develop and tune software for the AMD64 architecture. As
the AMD64 architecture continues to evolve, SimNow is designed to be a
tool to enable developers to test and tune their software to ensure the
best possible end-user experience.
SimNow will include a workable model of "Pacifica" virtualization
technology. Available in the first half of 2006, "Pacifica" has been
developed to extend AMD64 technology with Direct Connect Architecture
to enhance virtualization for clients and servers by introducing a new
model and features into the processor and memory controller.
The SimNow code will be available for download by August 22, at http://developer.amd.com/simnow.aspx.
News Source: AMD Press Release
Links
|