Rethinking Computing For The AI Age

Cisco estimates that global cloud IP traffic will nearly quadruple in the next five years. Information consumption is exploding with artificial intelligence (AI) embedded into all devices and experiences surrounding us. However, we do not want that to come at a cost of our security and privacy. Talk about pressure. On you.

Today, much of computing is done in the cloud for things that you are doing on your device. This approach made sense when we could leverage existing architectures to pack powerful compute clusters in centers around the globe. But times are changing. While compute centers will never vanish, we now have the capability to put compute in places where it’s most efficient. Today, with sophisticated mobile architectures, this isn’t always in the cloud. In short, we need to rethink architectural and compute approaches to deliver the new reality.

To address these needs, ARM launched the new ARM DynamIQ technology, a massive shift in multi-core microarchitecture for the industry and the foundation for future ARM Cortex-A processors.

DynamIQ adds more power efficiency and design flexibility in ARM big.LITTLE configurations to scale into different markets. (I’ve written in some depth about big.LITTLE’s role in DynamIQ here). The flexibility and versatility of DynamIQ will redefine the multi-core experience across a greater range of devices from edge to cloud across a secure, common platform. DynamIQ technology will be pervasive in our cars, our homes, and of course our smartphones, as well as countless other connected devices where machine learning is applied to the zettabytes of data they generate – both within the cloud and at the device level – advancing AI for a more natural and intuitive user experience.

Here’s what it means for you.

In a nutshell, DynamIQ technology offers three key benefits:

1. Faster and more complex data processing for advanced use cases such as AI
2. Improved energy-saving through intelligent power features
3. Product differentiation and richer user experience (UX) for all markets

DynamIQ technology improves energy efficiency by incorporating intelligent power features within the cluster that help extract every ounce of performance. This means higher-than-ever data processing and performance, leading to richer experiences, no matter where your compute takes place.

DynamIQ supports multiple, configurable, performance domains within in a single cluster. These domains, consisting of single or multiple ARM CPUs, can scale up and down in performance and power by up to 4x finer granularity than previous quad-core clusters. This will lead to systems that have a tighter fit in thermal budgets, which in turn, will result in longer sustained performance.

DynamIQ technology also introduces a more rapid and autonomous hardware-controlled power state transition mechanism that reduces the latency between the power states supported by ARM Cortex-A CPUs (e.g. ON, OFF and SLEEP). This results in shorter durations for powering up a CPU and hence quicker response times, while also having a huge benefit in terms of higher energy savings with quicker entry to power-saving states, such as sleep mode and power off.

Another new feature is autonomous CPU memory power management, which intelligently adapts the amount of local memory available to the CPUs depending on the type of application running. Applications that demand a high amount of compute performance, such as augmented reality (AR), will have the maximum amount of local memory at its disposal, while lighter applications, such as music streaming, will have the amount of local memory scaled back.

Tiering performance
DynamIQ technology redefines product differentiation through new configuration and flexibility options that do not just provide more scalability, but ultimately deliver a richer user experience too.

A DynamIQ cluster sees the combination of high performance ‘big’ CPUs and high efficiency ‘LITTLE’ CPUs into a single cluster with a shared coherent memory. In doing so, it not only delivers significant improvements in performance gained from a tighter coherent system, it also presents unprecedented flexibility and choice in CPU cluster design.

You can find more information on DynamIQ here and here.

DynamIQ is part of ARM’s growing push to transform technology experiences through a total computing approach that creates a vast network of securely connected, smart devices that enhance every aspect of peoples’ lives.

Feel less pressure now?