
Silver Lining Systems puts AMD’s ARM server in a different class - throwaway000002
http://semiaccurate.com/2016/01/14/silver-lining-systems-puts-amds-arm-server-in-a-different-class/
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ChuckMcM
Pretty cool, if the SeaMicro storage fabric could be added it would be even
more fun, pretty awesome transactional machine in a rack. I would have loved
to build a storage appliance out of a system like this when I was at NetApp.

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bryanlarsen
The SLS FIA-2100 discussed in the article is a PCIe card, it works with x86
too. So it isn't the 'killer feature' for AMD ARM implied in the article.

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dragontamer
Its a killer feature as long as the drivers are ARM-only.

Considering that Calxeda is the only one making the fabric, and Calxeda is the
only one using these ARM chips in general, I'd say its a killer feature
(specifically: a killer feature for Calxeda-ARM motherboards, not for any
other manufacturer of ARM chips). And since AMD is partnering with Calxeda
here, they get the benefit.

AMD is also the only big-player that has big-ARM chips out in any volume right
now anyway. I know there are a few from China but nothing really standardized.

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In any case, Xeon-D and Atom Centerton are kicking some major ass in
power/performance benchmarks. I find it unlikely that the AMD chip will keep
up with Intel. Still, being the only major ARM-server manufacturer is a good
position to be in.

IIRC, these AMD chips are Seattle, which is 28nm (two nodes behind Intel). AMD
is still hopelessly behind Intel. AMD is hoping that Zen-ARM chips will catch
up in 2017.

So basically... I bet this is mostly for R&D and experimental deployments.
Because if you're really deploying a multi-million dollar data-center full of
computers, you want the best. And the best, for better or worse right now, is
the Xeon-D.

If you want to start experimenting with ARM server development, it looks like
these AMD Seattle chips are the best ones on the market, with a very
intriguing implementation with Calxeda's motherboards / switching fabric as
well. If Calxeda / AMD undercuts Xeon-D with cheaper chips, they probably can
win with I/O heavy workloads (video hosting, cloud storage, etc. etc.)

Rumor is that these Seattle chips have 14-SATA ports (!!!!) and on-chip
Gigabit-Ethernet, so AMD is definitely targeting those I/O heavy workloads.

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trsohmers
Calxeda is no longer in existence.. SLS bought their assets to make this new
product, but SemiAccurate (the linked article) seems to incorrectly suggest
otherwise. SLS only mentions Calxeda in the context of them acquiring their
technology, but none of the same (major) people are involved.

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webaholic
So can we finally compare ARM64 and x86_64 apples to apples using this fabric?

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wmf
Or you could compare them apples to apples using no fabric or using a
conventional 10G network.

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dman
Looks interesting, wonder if there will be an affordable devkit.

