Loongson [1] is the name of a family of general-purpose, MIPS architecture-compatible, later in-house LoongArch architecture microprocessors, as well as the name of the Chinese fabless company (Loongson Technology) that develops them. The processors are alternately called Godson processors, which is described as its academic name.[2]
History
The Godson processors, based on MIPS architecture, were initially developed at the Institute of Computing Technology (ICT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).[3] The chief architect was .[4] The development of the first Loongson chip was started in 2001.[4][5] The aim of the Godson project was to develop "high performance general-purpose microprocessors in China", and to become technologically self-sufficient as part of the Made in China 2025 plan.[4] The development was supported by funding via the Chinese Communist Party's 10th and 11th Five-Year Plans.
In 2010 the company was commercialized as a separate entity,[4] and in April 2010 Loongson Technology Corporation Limited was formally established and settled in Zhongguancun, Beijing, China. The company is a public–private partnership between ICT and Beijing-based chip designer BLX IC Design Corporation.[5] BLX itself was a spin-off from ICT, and was founded in 2002 with Jiangsu Zhongyi Group. As Loongson is a fabless designer, at least some processors were fabricated and marketed by STMicroelectronics.[5][4]
The South China Morning Post reported that since 2020 Loongson has been partnering with UnionTech and Sunway to develop and promote the Debian-Linux-based Deepin operating system in order to reduce China's dependency on Microsoft Windows.[6][7]
In 2021, Loongson filed for an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market.[4][8] The company was seeking to raise US$500 million.[8] Details from this IPO suggested Loongson had needed RMB 400 million annual funding in its first 10 years of existence and that the company had only broken even in 2015.[9]
In April 2024 Loongson processors got a large boost when a school district in the city of Hebi commenced a trial of 10,000 PCs powered by computers featuring the Loongson 3A5000 processor and the Deepin-based Unity Operating System.[10][11] According to The Register, this trial project is to be used to promote the use of Loongson-and-Linux computers within the Chinese school system, which could potentially result in 50 million Loongson-based computers being sold to Chinese schools every year until 2030.[10]
Instruction set architectures
MIPS
Loongson began by using the MIPS64 instruction set architecture (ISA). The internal microarchitecture was independently developed by ICT. Early implementations of the family lacked four instructions patented by MIPS Technologies (US4814976A, unaligned load-store) to avoid legal issues.[14][15]
In 2007, a deal was reached by MIPS Technologies and ICT. STMicroelectronics bought a MIPS license for Loongson, and thus the processor can be promoted as MIPS-based or MIPS-compatible instead of MIPS-like.[16][17][18]
Cores
Loongson has three main families of processor cores, some of which are available as IP cores:[24]
It has been noted by the community that the naming of the Loongson microarchitectures is not consistent, with different products being noted to have the same processor core, even though the instructions sets might not be exactly compatible.[25]
- GS464 series: MIPS64 core with four-way superscalar out-of-order issue. The design originated from the Loongson 2F processor. It was first widely used in the Loongson 3A processor, before also being used in the Loongson 2 series.
- GS464V was first introduced in 2010 with the Godson 3B, and is a GS464 with vector capabilities.
- GS464E is an improved version of the GS464. Development had started in 2012 after shortcomings were found in the GS464 processor. The core has multiple improvements, including larger caches and better branch prediction among others, and was better optimised. The core was extended to support LoongISA (extending the MIPS64 R2 architecture).
- GS464EV is a development of the GS464 series, first used by the 3A4000 processor
Processor families
Loongson has built 4 processor families from their architectural cores. These are the:
- Godson-1, for consumer electronics and embedded applications
- Godson-2, single core processors for embedded applications and low performance personal computers[26]
- Godson-3, multi-core processors for higher performance computers, high-performance computing and servers[27]
- Loongson 3, LoongArch processors
Godson-1
The first Loongson processor, the Godson-1, was designed in 2001, released in 2002, and is a 32-bit CPU running at a clock speed of 266 MHz.[5]
Supported software
Godson
Operating systems
The Godson processors are mainly designed around using the Linux operating system.[39] Any operating system supporting the MIPS architecture should theoretically work. Windows CE was ported to a Godson-based system with minimal effort.[40] In 2010, Lemote ported an Android distribution to the Godson platform.[41]
Godson machines are used in the package-building and CI infrastructure of Debian and Golang, respectively. This is partially because of Loongson's status as the only vendor producing application-grade MIPS CPUs for retail.[42]
Loongson microprocessor specifications
Loongson-based systems
In 2012 it was reported that Loongson processors were found in very few computing systems.[5] The processors are mainly used in Chinese computers; in 2021 it was reported that Loongson supplies CPUs for most desktop computers procured by the Chinese government, and 80% of the Chinese government's servers.[9] The release of the 3A3000 processor in 2015 was noted as turning point for the company's fortunes.[9] In 2017 it was noted that the company's processors were being used in the BeiDou satellite.[9]
Personal computers
In March 2006, a €100 Loongson II computer design called Longmeng (Dragon Dream) was announced by Lemote.
See also
- 863 Program
- Major events in computer science in China
- Semiconductor industry in China
External links
References
- 龙芯处理器英文品牌定名Loongson(组图)_业界_科技时代_新浪网 tech.sina.com.cn, retrieved 19 November 2006^
- Weiwu Hu. 2008 IEEE Hot Chips 20 Symposium (HCS) August 2008^
- Yimian Wu. China Supports Local Semiconductor Firms By Adding Them To Government Procurement List China Money Network, 23 May 2018, retrieved 31 May 2018^