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AMD has launched its latest next-gen Opteron 6300 Series processors, aiming to power the server you buy tomorrow, and the more mainstream branch of its twin enterprise chip strategy. The new chips – which promise up to 24-percent higher performance versus the Opteron 6200 processors the new range replaces – use AMD’s Piledriver core technology for reduced power consumption: that means cooler, faster servers that are cheaper to run.

The Opteron 6300 Series line-up maxes out at 3.5GHz base frequency, though there’s up to 3.8GHz on offer in AMD Turbo CORE mode. 4-, 6-, 8-, 12-, and 16-core versions are offered, with TDPs ranging from 85W in the 6366 HE low-power model, through to 140W for the 16-core, 2.8GHz 6386 S top of the line chip.

Up to four 1866MHz memory channels are supported, and AMD claims the 6300 Series is the only x86 processor to work with ultralow voltage 1.25v memory. Each CPU can handle up to 384GB of memory – spread over up to 12 DIMMs – and up to four x16 HyperTransport links (each up to 6.4GT/s).

However, AMD isn’t solely relying on x86 for its future server chip strategy. The company recently confirmed that it was developing 64-bit ARM-based server processors, borrowing architecture more commonly associated with tablets and smartphones, and repurposing it for frugal use in enterprise server rooms.

The first servers to use the Opteron 6300 Series chips are on sale today, with Dell and HP both signed up to produce systems using AMD’s new CPU by the end of the year.

AMD Opteron 6300 Series slots a 16-core Piledriver in your server rack is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

AMD has unveiled its plans to produce 64-bit ARM-based processors for servers, stating that it will be the first company providing x86 and 64-bit ARM solutions. This move aims to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for more energy-efficient 64-bit server processors. The first 64-bit ARM-based processor will be an AMD Opteron, and is slated for production in 2014.

According to the press release, the increase in mobile devices and new business models has put a particular strain on data centers’ server infrastructure. The market, says AMD, is actively seeking ways to increase efficiency while reducing ownership costs. ARM-based processors are ideal for parallelization, making them a better choice over large-core CPUs.

Said ARM CEO Warren East, “The industry needs to continuously innovate across markets to meet customers’ ever-increasing demands, and ARM and our partners are enabling increasingly energy-efficient computing solutions to address these needs. By collaborating with ARM, AMD is able to leverage its extraordinary portfolio of IP, including its AMD Freedom supercompute fabric, with ARM 64-bit processor cores to build solutions that deliver on this demand and transform the industry.” AMD’s president and CEO Rory Read also offered a statement, saying that AMD will lead the industry in widespread adoption of more energy-efficient 64-bit processors.

This comes after AMD’s acquisition of SeaMicro, which was announced back in March. Says the press release, AMD will be integrating the SeaMicro fabric with the upcoming processors to enable more energy-efficient processor clusters. AMD made the announcement earlier today at a hosted event in San Francisco. No details were released on the processors.

[via AMD]

AMD to develop 64-bit ARM processors for servers is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Calxeda, which claims to be the first company that implemented ARM processors in servers, has announced its plans to use 64-bit ARM chips in its servers by 2014. The server start-up company detailed its roadmap, which outlines plans for two new generations of hardware built on its own version of 64-bit and 32-bit ARM processors.

Calxeda is developing a chip codenamed Lagos, which will be based on ARM’s 64-bit ARMv8 architecture. ARM announced their 64-bit architecture almost one year ago to the day, and has said themselves that servers with their chips based on its 64-bit architecture would be available around 2014 or later.

Calxeda recently received $55 million in capital funding last week, and the company is planning to use this funding to focus on their chip development. Calxeda currently offers a 32-bit prototype server chip called EnergyCore, which is based on ARM’s Cortex-A9 processor design. It’s used in prototype servers from companies like Dell and HP.

The reason why ARM processors are becoming more and more popular for server use is that they’re way more power-efficient than chips from Intel. And in order to keep up with the growing demands of computing, Calxeda is looking to transition to these energy-efficient 64-bit chips in just a couple of years.

Calxeda announces plans to use 64-bit ARM chips in 2014 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google has thrown open the virtual doors to its data centers, adding behind-the-scenes views of the sprawling, server-filled warehouses in a new “Where the Internet lives” feature. “Our first priority is the privacy and security of your data, and we go to great lengths to protect it, keeping our sites under close guard” the search giant says, but still allowed photographer Connie Zhou to wander the aisles snapping the hardware and the people responsible for it.

The digital walkthrough is split into three sections – tech, people, and places – and while there isn’t a huge amount of technical detail, the photos are certainly eye-catching. Rack upon rack of caseless ‘boards, with eye-catching loops of colored cabling splashed across them.

Meanwhile, Wired‘s Steven Levy got to go one better than browsing an online gallery, and walked through the hallowed data halls himself. Along the way he picked up a few details, such as how a massive room full of interlinked machines might not necessarily be the best way to serve up information.

“It would be slow and burdensome to have millions of people grabbing videos from Google’s few data centers. So Google installs its own server racks in various outposts of its network—mini data centers, sometimes connected directly to ISPs like Comcast or AT&T—and stuffs them with popular videos. That means that if you stream, say, a Carly Rae Jepsen video, you probably aren’t getting it from Lenoir or the Dalles but from some colo just a few miles from where you are” Steven Levy, Wired

Google’s comments about the sanctity of user data come at a tricky time for the company. EU privacy regulators demanded yesterday that the company modify its privacy policies after the unified T&Cs came into effect earlier this year, arguing that the system was insufficiently clear to individual users as to how their data might be used or shared.

Now that its successor is available, you’re unlikely to hear much excitement for Windows Server 2008 around IT water coolers, but that’s not to suggest it’ll fade into oblivion anytime soon. In fact, Microsoft has extended its mainstream support of the server OS — previously set to expire on July 9th, 2013 — through January 15th, 2015. The company will continue to deliver free security fixes for the operating system beyond this cutoff date, however maintenance updates will require the purchase of extended support from Microsoft. According to the company’s revised product lifecycle, paid updates for Windows Server 2008 will now be available through January 14th, 2020. For those curious, the new dates were largely determined by Microsoft guidelines, which guarantee a minimum five years of support, or in this case, two years of mainstream support beyond the release of the successor product. Naturally, it pains us to imagine firms chugging along with Windows Server 2008 into 2020, but you just know it’ll happen. Now, at least someone in Redmond will be watching out for them.

Filed under: Software

Microsoft extends free Windows Server 2008 support through January 15th, 2015 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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