A Silicon Valley startup is using a processor primarily found in mobile devices for a new kind of cloud-computing server. On Monday, SeaMicro unveiled its Internet-optimized x86 server, based on 512 Intel Atom processors.
The model, SM10000, is described by the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company as the "ultimate rethink of the volume server." It said the server is specifically designed for the workloads and traffic patterns on the Internet, and that its approach "dramatically reduces power draw and footprint without requiring any modifications to existing software."
The company said the SM10000's key benefits include using a quarter of the power and taking up a quarter of the space as an equivalent, best-in-class volume server. The new unit can run off-the-shelf operating systems and applications without modification, and has an architecture flexible enough to support any CPU.
Other technology innovations include a patented new CPU I/O virtualization, elimination of 90 percent of the components ordinarily required for virtualization, and a supercomputer-style interconnect fabric linking the 512 mini-motherboards into a single system -- which results in a throughput of 1.28 terabits. The architecture supports any protocol, including Ethernet, fibre channel, or data-center Ethernet. The unit's 512 Atom processors run at 1.6 GHz, with one terabyte of DRAM.
SeaMicro is especially promoting the power savings. The company cited reports from Google to the effect that, if current power requirements continue, the cost of energy for a server will, over its lifetime, surpass the initial purchase cost.
SeaMicro said its approach deals with a "fundamental server design mismatch." Servers, it said, were initially designed to solve a "relatively small number of very hard problems," a situation that was changed by the Internet.
In a data center focused on the Internet, it said, the challenge is handling many relatively small, independent tasks -- searches, social networking,...
Posted: 2010-06-14 15:35:53
