Linus Torvalds on Why ARM Won't Win the Server Space

majewsky wrote: post #2

So RISC-V CPU designers should aim for the developer market then? First win the hearts and minds of developers, then everything else will come.

Absolutely yes!

Re: Linus Torvalds on Why ARM Won't Win the Server Space

#7

Post by dkersten » Fri, Feb 22, 2019, 12:21 PM UTC

majewsky wrote: post #2

So RISC-V CPU designers should aim for the developer market then? First win the hearts and minds of developers, then everything else will come.

I guess if nobody wants to develop for it, then it becomes a more difficult business proposition too.

Re: Linus Torvalds on Why ARM Won't Win the Server Space

#8

Post by amq » Fri, Feb 22, 2019, 12:22 PM UTC

majewsky wrote: post #2

So RISC-V CPU designers should aim for the developer market then? First win the hearts and minds of developers, then everything else will come.

But if there is nothing to develop for... Chicken and egg problem.

However, I think that Windows on ARM will soon become a real thing, this could bring the developers, it will also help the ARM devices spread among Linux users.

Regarding what Linus wrote, I do not buy it. There is so much stuff can run without cross-compilation: js and other scripts, java, c#. Also look at things like Android and iOS, you are already happily developing for ARM, you can develop for servers with the same approach.

Re: Linus Torvalds on Why ARM Won't Win the Server Space

#9

Post by amelius » Fri, Feb 22, 2019, 12:23 PM UTC

> Some people think that "the cloud" means that the instruction set doesn't matter. Develop at home, deploy in the cloud. That's bullshit. If you develop on x86, then you're going to want to deploy on x86, because you'll be able to run what you test "at home" (and by "at home" I don't mean literally in your home, but in your work environment).

But developers can ssh to the cloud, and develop there, right?

Re: Linus Torvalds on Why ARM Won't Win the Server Space

#10

Post by enragedcacti » Fri, Feb 22, 2019, 12:23 PM UTC

I disagree with Linus for a couple of reasons. The main one being that not every service in a product needs to be running ARM for it to be useful. There is nothing preventing heterogenous solutions in the cloud and if third parties vet their code on ARM then deploying your DBMS on ARM and your web server on x86 (or whatever services most of your business logic is in) is totally valid for cost or performance reasons.

Secondly, it seems likely that there will be ARM MacBooks by 2020, that kind of instant market penetration for arm in the dev space might mean the exact opposite of what he's saying; why would I deploy on x86 when all of my development is on my ARM machine already?