Re: First WinModem for Linux
Helge Hafting (helge.hafting@c2i.net)
Thu, 05 Aug 1999 18:13:38 +0200
> actually, generic function CPUs were born as a way to handle different
> tasks on the same hardware device.
>
> this would make implementing "especial" features easier since all this
> features should be done giving instructions for a single multi purpose
> hardware, for sure Software was born.
>
> the problem here is not on the paradigm design, but on the fact that
> current microprocessor architectures don't scale.
>
> that is why specialized DSPs are used for, a "Software DSP" is not an
> efficient design because of the flaws of current hardware.
>
A software modem DSP is bad because it is very timing-sensitive,
no matter how powerful the cpu is. The very sensitive stuff is
better left to dedicated hardware. Use the cpu for less critical stuff,
such as running generic programs and tossing bytes/pages to the
dedicated hardware.
IDE used to be a cpu-intensive cheap disk interface. They have
implemented DMA now in order to offload the cpu - guess why?
The same applies to winmodems. (Can you even run several winmodems
in one machine?)
A cheaper modem with compression & the hayes command interface in
software might make sense. Putting DSP jobs like echo cancelling and such in
software is just broken.
Helge Hafting
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