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Here's how Huawei and other Chinese firms could access crucial CPU technology without restrictions
Throughout its history, MIPS has changed hands and IPOed more than once. But, in a surprising turn of events, it has ended up under control of a Chinese company.
As a result, Chinese companies may now license crucial processor architecture IP from the company and develop their SoCs for various purposes without any restrictions imposed by the U.S.
Restrictions applied
Starting from 2018, the US government tightened restrictions on direct Chinese investments in the American startups in a bid not to let the Chinese control new technologies.
In addition, select Chinese companies — most notably Huawei Technologies and its subsidiaries — were included in the US Department of Commerce Entity List, which required them to obtain a special license to access technologies developed in the US in general.
This prevented Huawei and some others from working with multiple partners in the country. But apparently, as a result of a series of acquisitions and licensing agreements, the Chinese high-tech companies can still access technologies developed by MIPS, one of the oldest CPU developers from California.
MIPS changes hands
MIPS Computer Systems was established in the early 1980s by a group of scientists from Stanford University, who worked on a project called Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages (MIPS).
The researchers successfully developed the MIPS architecture and various cores on its base and then licensed their technologies to other companies willing to design actual CPUs powered by MIPS.
The company was quite successful from 1980s to 1992, when it was acquired by Silicon Graphics Inc to develop in-house CPUs and offer higher performance than it was possible with off-the-shelf offerings from competitors.
SGI spun off MIPS in 1998, the company went public and continued with its licensing business model. While not as successful as Arm, MIPS licensed its cores to a wide range of companies, creating chips for an equally wide range of applications.
Some time in 2013, Imagination Technologies decided that, in a bid to be competitive with Arm, it needed CPU IP in addition to GPU IP, so it took over MIPS, which is when the turbulence began for the processor company. In early 2017, Apple announced plans to stop using Imagination’s GPU IP within two years and, while not many details were revealed, Imagination’s stock plummeted and the board decided to sell the company to a private investor.
China-backed Canyon Bridge acquired ImgTec in late 2017, but in a bid not to provoke the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an organization that reviews foreign investments, MIPS was spun off from ImgTec before the deal was sealed.
China gets MIPS’s technologies
In September 2017, MIPS was taken over by Tallwood Venture Capital controlled by Diosdado P. Banatao, who earlier co-founded Mostron, Chips and Technologies, and S3 Graphics.
Mr. Banatao transferred MIPS ownership to Wave Computing in mid-2018, which is co-owned by Banatao and Alibaba. Later, Wave Computing transferred MIPS licensing rights to a Samoan-registered company called Prestige Century Investment as a result of insolvency proceedings. Prestige Century Investments happens to be a 100% owner of CIP United, a China-registered company.
CIP United now controls all MIPS licensing rights for all customers in China, Hong Kong and Macau, and has the ability to design new derivative technologies based on the MIPS architecture, according to Reuters, which cites four sources. Among others, Huawei Technologies is a licensee of CIP and MIPS.
But what about software and manufacturing?
Since CIP United now controls IP developed by MIPS (albeit, only in China), its customers can access it and develop SoCs for various applications starting from sensors and SSD controllers and going all the way to self-driving cars and supercomputer-class CPUs. However, there are two challenges for adopters of the MIPS architecture: software support and production.
The MIPS architecture is not supported by Google’s Android operating system at the same level as Arm’s architectures. To that end, MIPS licensees either have to rely on other OSes or tailor open-source Android for their needs. For many MIPS licensees, lack of Android support is not a problem since they develop chips for applications that use different OSes. In fact, many of MIPS-powered devices use proprietary software anyway.
Meanwhile, a technology giant like Huawei has resources to advanced open-source Android in accordance with their needs.
But Huawei has a different problem. It cannot work with any contract maker of semiconductors that use technologies developed in the USA, which means all foundries, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in Taiwan as well as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co. (SMIC) in China.
Being unable to access manufacturing makes Huawei’s chip design prowess useless. What will be interesting is whether the company finds a workaround for this conundrum too.
Made in China 2025
Huawei is one of the largest high-tech companies in China, but for the country’s government the ‘Made in China 2025’ plan is considerably more important than a single company, since it represents a new multi-billion industry that does not depend on foreign investments or technologies.
The number of Chinese chip designers skyrocketed from 736 in 2015 to 1,780 in 2017. Many of these companies need CPU IP and some may not be inclined to use Arm. For them, MIPS and RISC-V architectures are two natural choices and MIPS has an edge over RISC-V right now.
MIPS does have off-the-shelf high-performance CPU cores comparable to Arm’s Cortex-A70-series or Neoverse, but it is possible to use the MIPS architecture to build something powerful enough for servers. For example, China’s Loongson Technology develops MIPS64 CPUs for client devices and servers and there are also Green500 supercomputers based on MIPS CPUs.
Unrestricted access to MIPS’s CPU and other IP seems to be crucially important not only for select companies, but the whole Made in China 2025 plan.
Sources: Reuters, Electronics Weekly
Date
30 Aug 2020Sources
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Microsoft Teams vs Cisco Webex: Which video conferencing and collaboration service is best?
Read MoreCisco may not have the same standing in the consumer arena as Microsoft or Google, but in the enterprise field, it is certainly well known. That’s why its video conferencing software, Cisco Webex, has proven so popular over the past year or so.
With the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, collaboration tools like Webex have gone head-to-head with the likes of Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and a host of others. With social distancing measures in place, virtual interactions have taken the place of face-to-face meetings.
Despite the fact that other solutions may have better name recognition than Webex, that doesn’t mean that it should be deemed to be inferior to any of the other platforms on the market. if you’re unsure of the exact pros and cons of using Webex, the following guide should help.
In particular, we’ll compare Webex to Microsoft Teams, one of the solutions that has experienced the biggest increases in popularity over the course of the pandemic. That growth hasn’t stopped Webex from gaining a formidable reputation for its market-leading features, however.
In this guide, we’ve collected all the information you need to decide whether Teams or Webex is best for your business, comparing plans and pricing, features, security and more.
Plans and pricing
While Microsoft Teams’ free offering will be suitable for many smaller businesses and individual users, Cisco Webex is really aimed at paying customers. It does provide a free plan but it is only available to a single host and provides restrictions on some of its features, including a 50-minute call limit. On the other hand, the free version of Teams comes with a slightly better 60-minute time limit on calls, as well as 2GB of personal cloud storage, and an unlimited chat service.
Teams
In terms of Teams’ paid options, users can choose from three different Microsoft 365 packages, which will deliver different levels of Teams functionality. Microsoft 365 Business Basic, for example, costs $5.00/£3.80/AU$6.90 per user per month, and gives users the ability to schedule and record meetings. It also increases the file storage capacity to 1TB per user.
The Microsoft 365 Business Standard package, meanwhile, costs $12.50/£9.40/AU$17.20 per user per month and also comes with desktop versions of Microsoft’s productivity applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). For businesses with larger budgets, Microsoft 365 Premium incorporates advanced security and privacy features but will set them back $20.00/£15.10/AU$27.50 per user per month.
It’s true that Teams is one of the more expensive video conferencing tools on the market if you are not already a Microsoft 365 subscriber. However, if your business is already an avid 365 user, Teams is a very cost-effective option.
Webex
For Webex, the pricing plans are pretty straightforward to explain. There’s the Starter plan that is suitable for smaller teams or individual users as it comes with nine host licenses and 1GB of file storage. This package will set organizations back $14.95 per host per month.
The Business plan, meanwhile, costs $29.95 per host per month and comes with one hundred host licenses, 10 GB of file storage, and an interactive whiteboarding feature. Finally, the Enterprise plan comes with bespoke pricing but might be the best option for companies that host a lot of larger meetings or live events.
Features
Webex’s features are easily categorized into three distinct areas: meeting, calling, and messaging. In terms of in-meeting features, users can enjoy personalized screen designs and top-quality HD video and audio for up to 1,00 meeting participants. Webex users also have a range of sharing options, including for their entire screen and well-known apps like PowerPoint.
Auto-transcribing, integration with calendars, and in-meeting personalization are also nice features. Both group and one-on-one messaging are available (even when out of a meeting), and there are a number of useful integrations, including Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, and Salesforce.
Regarding Teams, features include screen sharing, call recording, live captions, background blur technology, and chat functionalities. The ability to integrate with other Microsoft applications is perhaps its most useful feature, however.
Security
Unsurprisingly given Microsoft’s pedigree, Microsoft Teams comes with a range of security features, including the encryption of all data within Microsoft data centers. Microsoft Teams also requires multi-factor authentication to defend users and businesses against unauthorized account access.
Cisco Webex also takes security extremely seriously. Encryption is again provided for all cloud recordings, and meeting passwords should help prevent any unwanted meeting attendees. Paid versions of Webex also benefit from HIPAA and BAA compliance.
Support
While Microsoft Teams comes with a robust formal support offering, including online webinars and live chat support. However, one of the support features that has received the most praise is actually nothing to do with Microsoft . Because of Teams’ extensive userbase, a community has developed that is always more than willing to help out anyone that may be encountering challenges.
Webex’s support includes video tutorials and free training programs, in addition to daily demos and live events. Although the fact that the free service only comes with online support is slightly disappointing, the Enterprise plan comes with a dedicated rep, which means you should get your issues resolved extremely quickly.
Verdict
Cisco Webex is a video conferencing tool that certainly comes with a strong pedigree. Although individual users are more likely to go with technology brands that they recognize from their everyday lives - such as Google Meet or Microsoft Teams - enterprises are bound to appreciate some of the high-level offerings that come with Webex.
In particular, the Enterprise plan has some really nice touches, including the offer of your own rep for support. That kind of service really makes a customer feel valued. In terms of features and security, the two platforms are also evenly matched, so deciding whether Teams or Webex is right for your business is a difficult call.
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