Developers from the Russian Federation began to create their own microprocessors, which are considered quite competitive in relation to the products of leading world brands. There are already both serial models preparing for industrial production and planned developments. Which Russian processors - current or promising - deserve special attention?
The main developers of Russian processors
The Russian IT industry is actively developing. Among its most technologically advanced segments is the development of microprocessors designed for use as part of a PC, and servers that are commonly referred to as IBM architecture. Now two world brands dominate in this market - Intel and AMD. There are very few competitive developments in the world. But those can be proposed by Russian engineers.
Among the promising microcircuits from the Russian Federation, which may become competitors of Intel and AMD, the Baikal processor is considered to be. It is assumed that this chip will be installed on computers ordered by government agencies. The most probably well-known microprocessor vendor that created working and preparing for serial production microcircuit samples is MCST. It produces chips under the Elbrus brand in a wide range of modifications.
Let us consider in more detail what features characterize promising and current processors of Russian production.
Future processor: Baikal
In June 2014, the Russian media spread the news: the Ministry of Industry and Trade carried out an order for the development of microprocessors, which were supposed to be subsequently installed on PCs purchased for state needs. We are talking about chips under the Baikal brand. What remarkable facts are typical for this chip? The Baikal processor began to be developed by the Baikal Electronics company. The project is being funded by the T-Nano Center, which was created by the T-Platforms Corporation, with the participation of Rusnano. The United Instrumentation Corporation is also engaged in work on the processor. It is known that brands such as Depo Computers, Aquarius, and Kraftway will probably participate in the project.
It is assumed that the Baikal processor will be created in several versions. The first will be, according to some reports, the 8-core Baikal M chips, as well as M / S for PCs and servers. They will be produced on the basis of 28 nm technology, as well as Cortex A57 cores operating on a 64-bit basis. The performance of the Baikal processors will be about 2 GHz. Chips are expected to be compatible with Linux. Subsequently, 16-core chips will also be produced. They will be made using 16 nm technology. There is evidence that the Russian Baikal processor in the first batch will be produced by the Taiwanese company TSMC.
Elbrus Brand: Key Facts
Another well-known microprocessor brand both in the Russian Federation and abroad is Elbrus. Chips under this brand have already been released in several varieties. There is a dual-core Elbrus processor. There are chips with 4 or even 8 cores.
There is evidence that in the near future, PCs based on these processors will be launched on the market. Now, based on the Elbrus chips, working models of computers of various modifications have been created - laptops, monoblocks, desktops, servers. The main customers of the PC in which the Russian processor developed by the MCST company will be installed are expected to be defense structures. There is also hope for demand from large businesses. The Elbrus chips can work under the main OS for computers of IBM architecture - Windows, Linux.
Let us consider in more detail how Elbrus processors were created.
Elbrus processors: history
The first computer with which brand history begins was created by Soviet scientists in the 70s. They became the computing complex "Elbrus-1." It was based on TTL type microcircuits and contained 10 processors with a total capacity of about 15 megaflops. To some extent, it was a unique machine: in particular, it implemented the principle of parallel execution of commands. According to some reports, in the world of such computers have not yet been developed then. The amount of RAM in Elbrus-1 was 64 MB - more than decent.
For a unique Soviet computer , its own operating system and separate programming languages began to be developed. In 1985, the Elbrus-2 complex appeared, which was an improved model of the first machine. It was distinguished by an updated elemental base on ESL type microcircuits. The overall performance of the processors of the computing complex was more than 125 megaflops. In the architecture of this computer, a modular principle was implemented. The Elbrus-2 complex was characterized by a high level of speed and stability. It is known that it was used at various military facilities. In total, Soviet industry produced 30 Elbrus-2 complexes.
In 1990, a prototype Elbrus-3 computer was manufactured. But at that time, due to the difficult political situation in the country, funding for the project was discontinued. Nevertheless, already in 1992, Moscow Center for SPARC Technologies LLP was formed, which was soon renamed as MCST. The company began to produce industrial systems that were based on then popular SPARC technology created by Sun Microsystems.
SPARC Solutions
Working with SPARC-based solutions, the MCST company developed its own product in the form of a microprocessor. In earlier versions, its architecture was known as E2k. The first processor model based on it, called the R150, was released in 2001. The process involved the use of 350 nm technology. That Russian processor worked at a frequency of 150 MHz with a performance of about 150 megaflops.
In 2004, a much more powerful chip appeared - the R500. Its clock frequency was 500 MHz. It was produced in the framework of higher technological standards - 130 nm. In 2007, the MCST company released a dual-core processor R500S, which included the best practices in the field of SPARC technology. Its performance was 1 gigaflops.
Along with the development of SPARC-based microcircuits, the MCST company was engaged in the creation of a processor based entirely on its own developments by its engineers. So, by 2007, the Russian Elbrus processor was created and passed state tests. It was manufactured in accordance with the 130 nm standard and operated at a frequency of 300 MHz. The processor was equipped with a single core and operated at a speed of 4.8 gigaflops. This chip, as well as developments on it, laid the foundation for a whole family of microcircuits that have grown into technological, high-performance solutions. Consider them.
Elbrus-S
The first serial chip from MTsST is the Elbrus-S processor, which appeared in 2010. It was produced according to the standard of 90 nm. This chip could operate at a frequency of 500 MHz and provide a performance of about 8 gigaflops.
It can be noted that AMD Athlon 64 chip operating at a frequency of 2.2 GHz could then show similar performance.
"Elbrus-2C +"
In 2011, the following processor modification appeared - the Elbrus-2C + chip. It was also made in accordance with the architecture of 90 nm, but its performance was much higher - 28 gigaflops. It can be noted that such indicators as Intel Core 2 Duo, as well as Intel Core i3 could achieve similar performance. There is evidence that the developers managed to achieve such progress due to the fact that the processor is accompanied by 4 cores of an additional chip. This component performs digital signal processing. However, the built-in processor of the appropriate type, as the engineers of the MCST considered, was characterized by too high resource consumption in the production process. Therefore, in the following Elbrus models it was replaced by alternative solutions.
Elbrus-4C
In 2014, serial production of the next microprocessor masterpiece - “Elbrus-4C” began. This chip is made using 65 nm technology. Its cores (all of them, respectively, 4) operate at a frequency of 800 MHz. Each one has 2 MB of cache. This allowed us to achieve a processor performance of 50 gigaflops. This is almost the same as, for example, the Intel Core i7-975 chip has 53 gigaflops. At the same time, the power of the Russian chip is 45 watts. In this aspect, the power of the Elbrus-4C processor, according to many experts, is more economical than that of the American development.
The chip with 4 cores from the MCST is one of the most universal. The types of computers into which this processor can be installed are PCs, laptops, servers, all-in-ones. Actually, in the line of computer systems, which are also produced by the MCST company, there are machines in all the noted configurations.
Elbrus-8S
The latest processor from MTsST - with 8 cores "Elbrus-8C." The chip operates on the basis of the 28 nm standard, which closely brings it closer to the world's leading microprocessor models. The cache of the second level on the cores of the Elbrus-8C microcircuit is 4 MB, the third is 16 MB. The processor can work with the widespread standard of RAM like DDR3 1600. The chip performance, measured on single precision calculations, is 250 gigaflops. The processor has 4 memory controllers. The throughput rate for interprocessor communication channels is 16 GB / s. The marked chip performance is 250 gigaflops. How does it compare with the performance of world analogues of the Russian processor? It can be noted that the Intel Core i7 4930K chip produces about 130-140 gigaflops. Especially for the latest Elbrus processors, new motherboards are created, as well as a separate version of the OS. It is also possible that chip-based multiprocessor computers will be developed.
There is evidence that by 2018, the MTsST company will release processors of the Elbrus-16C type. Their estimated performance is 1 teraflops. It is also expected that the technological process of the chips will be based on standards of less than 28 nm.
Chip prospects
How do experts evaluate the processors manufactured by the Russian brand? The reviews of so many IT-specialists, one might say, are enthusiastic.
There are several reasons for this. For example, many developers are already proud that the processor was created specifically in Russia, and in conditions when for a long time the economic situation did not contribute to the active development of the IT industry in such a high-tech and high-tech segment. In terms of processor performance, ratings are also generally positive.
Specialists have some comments regarding the marketing prospects of the chips. To make them profitable, you need large markets that are occupied by world leaders. Compete with them, experts say, will not be easy.
At the same time, according to some analysts, Elbrus processors may well become a worthy alternative to Intel and AMD solutions within the Russian Federation, especially in terms of military supplies, in which the most stringent requirements are put forward for developers in terms of the reliability of electronic components and the safety of their use. The MCST company, experts believe, is quite capable of ensuring that the processors it manufactures comply with these requirements.
OS "Elbrus"
It is worth noting that a separate operating system was created specifically for the computer systems from the MCST working on the Elbrus processor. It was based on the Linux kernel in version 2.6.33, but has undergone deep fundamental processing. As a result, the Elbrus OS appeared, characterized by the highest level of safety and stability in operation. The creation of the Russian operating system was actively attended by specialists of JSC INEUM named after I. S. Brook.