AMD scuote il comparto dei server, nel quale già propone apprezzate soluzioni che ruotano intorno ai processori Opteron x86, annunciando la sua prima linea di processori ARM a 64-bit per ambito server, denominata Opteron A1100 Series. Inoltre, AMD ha anche annunciato una piattaforma hardware e software di sviluppo a supporto della nuova tecnologia.

In accordo ad AMD, i processori Opteron A1100 sono realizzati con un processo avente una geometria pari a 28nm e includono 4 o 8 core ARM Cortex-A57, fino a 4MB di cache L2 condivisa e 8MB di cache L3 condivisa e un memory controller in grado di gestire fino a quattro moduli di RAM di tipo SODIMM, UDIMM o RDIMM.

Questo contoller, inoltre, può lavorare in modalità dual-channel con memoria RAM ECC di tipo DDR3 o DDR4 e offrire prestazioni che raggiungono la soglia di 1866MT/s. Completano la dotazione dei nuovi processori Opteron A1100 8 linee PCI-Express Gen 3, 8 porte SATA III, 2 porte Gigabit Ethernet, unità dedicate per la compressione e cifratura dei dati e il supporto della tecnologia ARM TrustZone, finalizzata a incrementare la sicurezza.

Il kit di sviluppo, invece, è basato su una motherboard in formato micro-ATX e comprende un processore Opteron A1100, 4 slot di DIMM in grado di gestire fino a 128GB di RAM DDR3, due slot PCI-Express che possono essere configurati come due connettori x4 o uno solo x8, 8 porte SATA, il boot UEFI e, infine, un ambiente Linux basato su Fedora che integra un ampio set di strumenti per gli sviluppatori, da Apache a MySQL passando per PHP.

AMD ha reso noto che i primi sample dei nuovi processori ARM-based della linea Opteron A1100 Series e dei development kit saranno disponibili nel corso di questo trimestre.

AMD today added a major new milestone to its list of seminal developments in server technology. The company displayed a comprehensive development platform for its first 64-bit ARM-based server CPU, fabricated using 28 nanometer process technology, the first from an established server vendor. AMD also announced the imminent sampling of the ARM-based processor, named the AMD Opteron A1100 Series, and a development platform, which includes an evaluation board and a comprehensive software suite. In addition, AMD announced that it would be contributing to the Open Compute Project a new micro-server design using the AMD Opteron A-Series, as part of the common slot architecture specification for motherboards dubbed "Group Hug."

The AMD Opteron A-Series processor, codenamed "Seattle," will sample this quarter along with a development platform that will make software design on the industry's premier ARM-based server CPU quick and easy. AMD is collaborating with industry leaders to enable a robust 64-bit software ecosystem for ARM-based designs from compilers and simulators to hypervisors, operating systems and application software, in order to address key workloads in Web-tier and storage data center environments. The AMD Opteron A-Series development platform will be supported by a broad set of tools and software including a standard UEFI boot and Linux environment based on the Fedora Project, a Red Hat-sponsored, community-driven Linux distribution.

"The needs of the data center are changing. A one-size-fits-all approach typically limits efficiency and results in higher-cost solutions," said Suresh Gopalakrishnan, corporate vice president and general manager of the AMD server business unit. "The new ARM-based AMD Opteron A-Series processor brings the experience and technology portfolio of an established server processor vendor to the ARM ecosystem and provides the ideal complement to our established AMD Opteron x86 server processors."

The AMD Opteron A1100 Series processors support:

• 4 or 8 core ARM Cortex-A57 processors
• Up to 4 MB of shared L2 and 8 MB of shared L3 cache
• Configurable dual DDR3 or DDR4 memory channels with ECC at up to 1866 MT/second
• Up to 4 SODIMM, UDIMM or RDIMMs
• 8 lanes of PCI-Express Gen 3 I/O
• 8 Serial ATA 3 ports
• 2 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports
• ARM TrustZone technology for enhanced security
• Crypto and data compression co-processors

• An AMD Opteron A1100 Series processor
• 4 Registered DIMM slots for up to 128 GB of DDR3 DRAM
• PCI Express connectors configurable as a single x8 or dual x4 ports
• 8 Serial-ATA connectors
• Compatibility with standard power supplies
• Ability to be used stand-alone or mounted in standard rack-mount chassis
• Standard UEFI boot environment
• Linux environment based on Fedora, which provides developers with a rich set of tools and applications Standard Linux GNU tool chain, including cross-development version Platform device drivers Apache web server, MySQL database engine, and PHP scripting language for developing robust web serving applications Java 7 and Java 8 versions to provide developers to work in a 64-bit ARM environment

"Since 2012, AMD has been working with members of the Linaro Enterprise Group (LEG) on accelerating the ARM server ecosystem," said Andrea Gallo, LEG director. "Linaro's work on boot architecture including UEFI and ACPI, as well as key core server software such as an optimized LAMP stack and a best-in-class enterprise quality OpenJDK 8 Java implementation developed in collaboration with Red Hat, will enable AMD to deliver differentiated and innovative hardware solutions providing industry-leading performance and low-power products for the next generation of data center server platforms."

AMD continues to drive the evolution of the open-source data center from vision to reality and bring choice among processor architectures. It is contributing the new AMD Open CS 1.0 Common Slot design based on the AMD Opteron A-Series processor compliant with the new Common Slot specification, also announced today, to the Open Compute Project.

"Predefined, 'one size fits all' server platforms are giving way to customized solutions that deliver high performance at the lowest power consumption," said Frank Frankovsky, chairman and president of the Open Compute Project. "AMD's contribution to the Open Compute Project expands a growing portfolio of OCP designs that enable utilization and efficiency gains in data center operations."

For more information please visit AMD's booth at the Open Compute Summit today and tomorrow where the AMD Opteron-A development kit, AMD Open CS 1.0 server platform and partner technologies will be on display.

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