Towards a special multitasking microprocessor for public-network telecom applications

The multitasking support of some of the most advanced of today´s microprocessors is investigated in order to derive design directives for a special microprocessor architecture devoted to applications in public network telecom systems. The brands selected are the INMOS transputer, the VL86C020 Acorn RISC (reduced instruction set computer) Machine (ARM) manufactured by VLSI Technology, and Intel´s i386. These brands pursue multitasking approaches that are quite different and representative for today´s state of the art. The essential features of each architecture are explained, and a comparative evaluation is done to show particular benefits and drawbacks. A novel design idea is presented as the resulting synthesis. The goal underlying this work is to lay the technological foundations for the forthcoming concept of IBCN (integrated broadband communication network)