Xilinx Adds Open Source Linux Support as Xilinx Continues to Build out Development Model for its ARM Processor-Based Programmable SoC

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 26, 2011 — (PRNewswire) — Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) today launched its general Open Source Linux support and developer community for developing embedded software applications targeting the Zynq™-7000 Extensible Processing Platform (EPP), further building out the development model for the new family of devices. Linux software developers can begin developing their applications now with a GNU tool chain including C/C++ compilers, NEON optimized runtime libraries, debuggers and a QEMU system model of the Zynq-7000 EPP's dual Cortex™-A9 MPCore™ processor system.  

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ARM TechCon attendees can see demos of the Zynq-7000 EPP and supporting development tools including the new virtual platform also announced today with Cadence at Xilinx booth #207.

"Linux is by far the most popular operating system in the embedded space and more than 60 percent of our Zynq-7000 EPP early access customers have expressed interest in using Linux as their primary OS for their software," said Lawrence Getman, Vice President of Processing Platforms at Xilinx. "Of this, 80 percent of the customers are planning to use open source Linux distribution, so it is of great importance that Xilinx offer a great open source Linux distribution to customers."

Much like its long-time support for Open Source Linux for the MicroBlaze™ soft processor, support for the Zynq-7000 EPP includes a GIT Linux source distribution, a Wiki, forums, and QEMU system model support. This means application-level software developers can start developing their Open Source Linux applications for the Zynq-7000 EPP today, and have a developer community they can rely upon to foster the sharing of ideas and mutual support.

Additionally, Xilinx continues its efforts to offer software developers the tools that they need by expanding Zynq-7000 EPP support to include the popular ARM® Development Studio 5 (DS-5) tool chain, which now includes seamless multicore debug and trace on Cortex-A9 processors and system-wide performance analysis of Linux software stacks for the Zynq-7000 EPP.  

"Access to open source and professional tools, as well as a vibrant community, ensure developers have all they need to quickly develop Linux-based applications," said John Cornish, GM System Design Division, ARM.  "The ARM DS-5 toolchain works seamlessly with Linux and open source tools, simplifying the software development process on the Zynq-7000 platform."

Since April 2010, early access customers have been evaluating the Zynq-7000 Extensible Processing Platform for its ability to support systems targeting end market applications that support multiple functions and require real-time responsiveness that go well beyond what traditional processing solutions are able to implement. A number of these customers have also been able to run their systems in hardware using the Xilinx EPP Emulation platform, which offers a complete hardware model of the Zynq-7000 EPP including the ARM MPCore processor system and programmable logic resources.  

For customers immediately requiring a commercially-supported Linux distribution, Xilinx Alliance Program member PetaLogix offers its System Development Kit (SDK) Zynq Edition. It is the only package supporting all phases of the embedded design flow, and providing integration with the Xilinx Embedded Development Kit for hardware design entry and implementation. The PetaLinux SDK delivers a complete Embedded Linux platform solution. The kit includes Linux kernel, standard libraries and applications, system image builder and custom application and device driver templates. Also provided is a QEMU-based dynamic virtual Zynq platform to kick-start software development.

"Today, more than ever, shrinking time-to-market pressures and ever-expanding feature requirements make Embedded Linux and FPGAs a winning embedded systems platform," said Dr John Williams, PetaLogix Founder and CEO. "PetaLinux SDK is the only Embedded Linux distribution specifically targeting FPGA-based system-on-chip designs. The company is focused exclusively on Xilinx FPGA-based Embedded Linux platforms and leverages years of research, development and experience which drives customer success through a range of tools and service offerings."

The Zynq-7000 EPP allows embedded software engineers to perform their development, debug and implementation tasks in a similar fashion to industry-standard embedded design methodologies, which early access customers have been using since early this year.  Software application engineers can use the same ARM development tools they have used for previous designs.  In addition, Xilinx provides familiar tools, the Software Development Kit (SDK), an Eclipse environment-based tool suite, for embedded software application projects and Xilinx ISE® Design Suite for embedded hardware design which are available in beta form, customers can contact their Xilinx sales representative for more information.  

About the Zynq-7000 EPP

The Zynq-7000 family is Xilinx's first Extensible Processing Platform (EPP). This new class of product combines an industry-standard ARM dual-core Cortex-A9 MPCore processing system with Xilinx 28nm unified programmable logic architecture. This processor-centric architecture offers the flexibility and scalability of an FPGA combined with ASIC-like performance and power and the ease of use of an ASSP. The extensible Virtual Platform Early Access program has begun and will open to a broader customer base by the end of this year. For more information about Zynq-7000 devices and the Open Source Linux, please visit http://www.xilinx.com/products/zynq-7000/linux.htm.

About Xilinx

Xilinx is the worldwide leader in complete programmable logic solutions. For more information, visit http://www.xilinx.com/.

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Xilinx, the Xilinx logo, Artix, ISE, Kintex, Spartan, Virtex, Zynq and other designated brands included herein are trademarks of Xilinx in the United States and other countries. ARM, Cortex, and MPCore are trademarks of ARM in the EU and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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