Freescale releases better parallel software

FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR has written a series of applications modules for its embedded multicore processors.

The big idea is that it will slash the amount of parallel processing software its OEM customers need to develop and could be the much awaited arrival of a decent parallel programming environment.

Dubbed VortiQa, the software will help OEMs better link applications for Freescale's chips. EE Times quoted a Gartner analyst as saying VortiQa was the first of its kind in the embedded market.

No other processor company targeting this market has offered software at such a high level, Gartner said. Heretofore, embedded processor vendors have given OEM's only operating systems and middleware but never full applications.

Among software vendors for embedded processors, Wind River has come the closest to offering a full applications stack, which helps explain why Intel snapped up the company recently.

VortiQa code runs on Freescale's QorIQ and PowerQUICC processors, the company said in a statement. Basically it is a set of modules written with device applications for service providers, enterprise networks and gateways for home and small businesses in mind.

The modules include virtual private networking code using IPSec, as well as stateful packet inspection firewalls for edge routers and switches, virus and spam filters for business networks and network address translators for gateways. The software supports both symmetric and asymmetric multiprocessing models. µ