Latest release of MIPS architecture includes virtualization and SIMD

USA: MIPS Technologies Inc. publicly announced a major release of the MIPS architecture, encompassing the MIPS32, MIPS64 and microMIPS instruction set architectures.

Based on work done over more than two years, Release 5 ("R5") of the MIPS base architecture incorporates important functionality including virtualization and SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data) modules.

Highlights
* Major release of the MIPS architecture—based on years of development—includes significant functionality for next-generation MIPS-based products.

* MIPS SIMD architecture (MSA) module provides more computational capability for a wide range of applications.

* Scalable Virtualization (VZ) module provides secure hardware virtualization across a range of applications from tiny microcontrollers to high-end enterprise.

Enhanced Virtual Addressing (EVA) technology extends available memory space for large modern workloads.

* Popular multi-threading and DSP extensions are now integrated as modules within the base MIPS architecture.