ARM Community: Work & play in the online world: why I care about virtualisation at ARM Techcon - ARM Community

System Virtualization allows multiple OS and applications to run on my SoC platform without interfering with each other.

The computing and mobile worlds are converging. We’re all moving to a new paradigm where your personal, mobile ‘gadget of choice’ becomes your tool for working and playing in the online world. Whilst hardware helps with performance, cost and battery life, what your gadget can actually do is largely defined by software. Software is also the largest and fastest growing cost of bringing products to market.

Q. So how can I, the SoC designer, make more software available sooner on my platform?
A. Virtualization.

So how can I make more software available sooner on my platform? One easy way that is transferring from the computing world to the mobile world is system (CPU and IO) virtualisation. A conceptually simple idea; where the hardware is mapped to where the software expects it to be and not vice-versa. Now drivers and OS object files can run unmodified on a new hardware platform, and different OS for different worlds (think Android, WebOS, Symbian, etc.) can all run unmodified on the same hardware and even simultaneously!

Downloaded ‘apps’ have the potential to literally make or break my gadget. I want different work and home profiles, my employer wants security for company data, OEMs don’t want dodgy apps to crash their products. Virtualization offers the ability to completely separate different clients, each constrained to what they need to do and protected from the misdemeanours of others.

To find out how to efficiently virtualize you SoC, attend the ARM CoreLink system IP theatre session at 12:00 noon on the show floor or the conference session at 3pm on 'Virtualization Extensions to the ARM Architecture’ at ARM Techcon in Santa Clara on Nov 11^th.

William Orme, Strategic Marketing Manager for System IP, Processor Division, ARM is responsible for the next generation of system IP in the CoreLink and CoreSight product families. At ARM since 1996 he has lead the introduction of many new products, including the ETM and subsequent CoreSight multi-core debug and trace products. Prior to joining ARM, William has over 25 years in designing embedded systems from financial dealing rooms, through industrial automation to smartcard systems. William holds degrees in electronics and computer science as well as an MBA.

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William Orme, Strategic Marketing Manager for System IP, Processor Division, ARM, is responsible for the next generation of system IP in the CoreLink and CoreSight product families. At ARM since 1996 he has lead the introduction of many new products, including the ETM and subsequent CoreSight multi-core debug and trace products. Prior to joining ARM, William has over 25 years in designing embedded systems from financial dealing rooms, through industrial automation to smartcard systems. William holds degrees in electronics and computer science as well as an MBA.