Are you still wondering what AMD plans to do when it comes to its server strategy? Well, the waiting is over and AMD has pulled the curtains off the vaguest decisions of its history. AMD today has revealed everything by disclosing its roadmap. Reason behind this wise or unwise move is to target those shareholders and pundits who have under-estimated and doubted AMD’s ability to recapture the market share in the enterprise and data centre markets. Probably AMD wants to prove by planning out various innovative products which meet the fast growing data centers and computing overloads that it’s not less than anyone.
Some of the major additions in 2014 portfolio include APUs as well as two and four socket CPU and announcement of the forthcoming AMD Opteron X-series Processor called KYOTO. These latest processors will offer integrated CPU and GPU compute (APU), also high core-count ARM for high density computing in the data centre. Not forgetting considerable improvements in computer per watt per dollar and the entire price of ownership.
Seattle
“Seattle” will be the industry’s only 64-bit ARM-based server SoC from a proven server processor supplier. “Seattle” is an 8- and then 16-core CPU based on the ARM Cortex-A57 core and is expected to run at or greater than 2 GHz. The “Seattle” processor is expected to offer 2-4X the performance of AMD’s recently announced AMD Opteron X-Series processor with significant improvement in compute-per-watt. It will deliver 128 GB DRAM support, extensive offload engines for better power efficiency and reduced CPU loading, server caliber encryption, and compression and legacy networking including integrated 10GbE. It will be the first processor from AMD to integrate AMD’s advanced Freedom Fabric for dense compute systems directly onto the chip. AMD plans to sample “Seattle” in the first quarter of 2014 with production in the second half of the year.
Berlin
“Berlin” is an x86-based processor that will be available both as a CPU and APU. The processor boasts four next-generation “Steamroller” cores and will offer almost 8X the gigaflops per-watt compared to current AMD Opteron 6386SE processor. It will be the first server APU built on AMD’s revolutionary Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA), which enables uniform memory access for the CPU and GPU and makes programming as easy as C++. “Berlin” will offer extraordinary compute per-watt that enables massive rack density. It is expected to be available in the first half of 2014.
Warsaw
“Warsaw” is an enterprise server CPU optimized to deliver unparalleled performance and total cost of ownership for two- and four-socket servers. Designed for enterprise workloads, it will offer improved performance-per-watt, which drives down the cost of owning a “Warsaw”-based server while enabling seamless migration from the AMD Opteron 6300 Series family. It is a fully compatible socket with identical software certifications, making it ideal for the AMD Open 3.0 Server — the industry’s most cost effective Open Compute platform. It is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2014.
Basically AMDs strategy is to distinguish themselves by using their state of the art IP to build their server processors that are effective enough to cover the target workload and at the same time cutting down on the cost of server ownership.
AMD has dominated the world in the evolution of multi-core processors and 64 bit computing and they plan to stick to this strategy in the future as well with their next generation AMD Opteron families.
Source: AMD | News Archive