
A guide to IoT processors - alexvoica
https://imgtec.com/blog/mips-processors/a-guide-to-iot-processors/
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donquichotte
I'm not quite sure how this is a guide. The ESP8266, arguably the most low-
cost WiFi capable chip, is not even mentioned.

Also, according to the article, "high-density compute nodes feature a
heterogeneous CPU architecture" which is needed for "green computing-type
systems (e.g. network and storage systems, cloud computing or large-scale data
centers)". I have no idea what that means.

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alexvoica
I've tried to break down the different IoT categories and identify generic
characteristics that apply to them. There are of course hundreds of specific
SoCs to choose from but they all typically fall under one of the five
categories I've mentioned.

High-density compute nodes are a specific type of processors that have
manycore CPUs. The reason they are called high-density is because they pack
tens or hundreds of small CPU cores onto a single die. These types of small
cores don't provide massive single-threaded performance by themselves but when
added together, they can be quite compelling. This is a different approach to
having a few but very powerful cores such as Intel Xeons on an SoC. An analogy
would be a flock of starlings versus an eagle. Moreover, many CPU designers
today have abandoned the practice of scaling in frequency to achieve
performance and are focused more and more on performance per watt (hence the
term green computing). This is because the costs associated with powering and
cooling a data center are rapidly rising.

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JshWright
> This is because the costs associated with powering and cooling a data center
> are rapidly rising.

Because when I think "IoT", the first place I think of is a datacenter...

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alexvoica
You might not, but where do you think the vast amount of data produced by IoT
devices is going to go?

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JshWright
Somewhere other than an IoT device?

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alexvoica
It usually goes like IoT device - gateway - data center. IoT devices are
having a massive impact on data center architectures.

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JshWright
So any processor that ever touches data that came from an IoT device is an
"IoT processor"?

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TickleSteve
I would agree that data center processors are not IoT processors. They're
generic, server processors.

IoT == "connected devices"... with the emphasis on devices. i.e. embedded
microcontrollers.

Also note that they themselves don't have to be packaged with some RF comms,
plain old microcontrollers are entirely suitable for most cases.

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TickleSteve
...and no mention of ARM??

really? the most used micro of our time and quite possibly the most popular
controller for IoT devices and there isn't a mention?

(This article is purely a press-release for the manufacturer).

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Matthias247
They are competitors to ARM, so it's not really surprising. Agree with that
this is just a press release - which mostly aren't neutral.

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p51ngh
Duh.. I came here expecting to see a guide. Please change the title to reflect
content of the article.

