ARM debuts 64-bit architecture

British chip designer, ARM has unveiled details of its first 64-bit architecture, which it said would expand its reach into enterprise applications such as servers, currently dominated by Intel, Reuters reports.

The ARMv8 architecture includes instruction sets for both 32-bit processing, which is used in the chips that power Apple's iPad and new iPhone 4S, and 64-bit processing, ARM says.

Architecture based on 64 bits can handle more memory and larger files than 32-bit systems, and as such, it is necessary for demanding applications such as scientific research and searching large databases.

According to PCWorld, the new architecture will take time to appear, however. ARM expects to release its first ARMv8 processor designs next year, with prototype consumer and enterprise systems not expected until about 2014, ARM says.

“This is the beginning of quite a long road to 64-bit products,” ARM CTO Mike Muller said in a speech at ARM TechCon last Thursday, where the new design was unveiled.

The ARMv8 processor architecture will offer backwards compatibility and migration for existing software, ARM said.

The Cambridge-based chipmaker has already laid the groundwork for getting its chips into servers: it has backed ARM-based server start-up Calxeda, which is rumoured to be making servers for HP, ZDNet writes.

All the major chip companies - Intel, AMD, IBM, Fujitsu, Oracle - have Risc- and/or x86-based products with a 64-bit capability, along with start-ups such as Tilera. ARM's challenge is to get a foothold in a server market already dominated by these companies.