Enterprises that want more energy-efficient processor platforms for their
cloud-computing environments shouldn't look to Advanced Micro Devices' upcoming
"Bobcat" architecture. At least not yet.
In
a Nov. 29
blog post, John Fruehe, director of product marketing for server, embedded
and FireStream products at AMD, said a
customer on a recent trip to Asia asked him if AMD
was planning on offering processors based on the Bobcat core for low-power
servers that could be used in cloud computing environments.
On
initial blush, it would make some sense, Fruehe said. The Bobcat core, which
comes in 9- and 18-watt versions, is targeted at such client offering as mobile
devices and ultra-thin laptops. Such energy efficiency is attractive in data
centers that need a lot of smaller systems to run high numbers of smaller
workloads.
"With
all of the talk about cloud computing and low power environments, this customer
was thinking that this might be a good alternative for a cloud solution,"
Fruehe said. "With a power draw that low, it appears pretty appealing."
However,
he said, for the demands of today's cloud computing environments, AMD's
Opteron 4100 and 6100 series processors meet the needs, in such areas as
watts-per-core. In addition, the Opteron processors have various server
features that the Bobcat cores—which will begin appearing in systems in
2011—don't, including ECC memory and support
for server operating systems.
The
Bobcat APUs (accelerated processing units), which include integrated graphics
capabilities, also are based on single-processor systems, and while they may
offer high energy efficiency, they wouldn't scale well in cloud environments,
Fruehe said.
"So,
while you get really low power, you also don't necessarily have the core
density that cloud customers demand," he wrote. "This can impact the
overall manageability of the solution."
That
said, it doesn't mean AMD is closing the
door on using its Bobcat or "Bulldozer" core designs for future SoC
(system-on-a-chip) offerings for servers in the cloud computing market.
Bulldozer currently is being aimed at servers and high-end desktop systems.
Fruehe said AMD is "analyzing"
both designs for cloud environments.
"There
is not 100% clarity at this time about the needs of the cloud market because so
much of it is evolving today, but we are serious about ensuring we have the
right solution going into the future," he wrote. "That means any
products we develop in the future for cloud servers would have 'server class'
features (ECC, appropriate cache sizes and
memory support etc.)."
Systems
makers and chip vendors are pushing solutions designed to meet the high
performance and low power consumption demands of scale-out cloud environments.
In his blog, Fruehe compares AMD's Bobcat
core to Intel's Atom processor, which initially was designed for the netbook
space but is expanding into other markets.
Server
maker SeaMicro is building highly efficient systems based on the Atom
platform, while Quanta Computer is basing some of its servers on Tilera's
processors. At the same time, chip makers like Marvell and Calxeda
are looking to build server processors based on ARM
designs that can find their way into servers. ARM
earlier this year unveiled its Cortex-A15 design that company officials say
will have features to get it into enterprise systems, including servers.
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