Many stand-alone processors are supported under Linux. The most widely supported of these are IA32/IA64 and PowerPC architectures. These stand-alone processors are used as building blocks to build very-high-performance computing engines. We presented several examples from Intel, IBM, and Freescale.
Integrated processors, or systems on chip (SOCs), dominate the embedded Linux landscape. Many vendors and several popular architectures are used in embedded Linux designs. Several of the most popular are presented in this chapter by architecture and manufacturer.
An increasingly popular trend is to move away from proprietary hardware and software platforms, toward commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions. Two popular platforms in widespread use in embedded Linux systems: cPCI and ATCA.
3.4.1. Suggestions For Additional Reading
PowerPC 32-bit architecture reference manual:
Programming Environments Manual for 32-Bit Implementations of the PowerPC
ArchitectureRevision 2
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
www.freescale.com/files/product/doc/MPCFPE32B.pdf
PowerPC 64-bit architecture reference:
The Programming Environments Manual for 64-Bit MicroprocessorsVersion 3.0
