AMD, Google, Microsoft, and NVIDIA have teamed up with the Linux Foundation and the Open Compute Project (OCP) to deliver Caliptra, a reusable silicon-level IP block, which could be a “scalable, standards-based solution to benefit the entire industry” .
Caliptra is the group’s new open specification for Silicon Root-of-Trust (ROT) for use with future CPUs/SoCs, GPUs, NICs, SSDs, and other hardware components.
The ROT is the foundational security component of a connected device, trusted by nature and designed to be secure by design, ensuring that only trusted firmware can run on the device.
What does this mean for potential users?
OCP said that Caliptra is specifically designed to meet “emerging business models at the edge and higher levels of confidentiality in the cloud” which it says are creating “new demands for higher levels of consistency for interoperability and transparency to ensure security.”
Although the new piece Caliptra clearly has some serious industry behind it, it’s probably notable that Intel is absent from the list of backers.
“Independent hardware and software initiatives by different communities and consortia often require significant integration efforts by the industry,” said Ashish Nadkarni, Group Vice President and General Manager, Global Infrastructure at IDC. “Vendors need to transform the initiative and incorporate it into solutions with market needs in mind.”
“The end result is that many innovations never see the light of day or serve the needs of the broader market.”
He added, “The expanded collaboration between the Open Compute Project and the Linux Foundation has strong potential to accelerate the uptake of open innovations into meaningful products and services.”
Caliptra 0.5 specification is already available over here The OCP Foundation seeks community feedback.
In addition, the project is also providing basic seed code for industry members so that they can “confidently integrate” into the new silicon.
