14 DAY TRIAL // Calxeda, a startup which aims to develop server processors based on ARM cores, has just announced the introduction of the world's first server SoC based on the 32-bit Cortex-A9 low-power core usually used in mobile devices.
The system-on-a-chip device is called the Calxeda EnergyCore and it incorporates four ARM Cortex-A9 cores as well as an 80-Gigabit fabric switch seconded by an integrated management engine which optimizes the energy efficiency of the chip.
Outside of these key components, the Calxeda SoC packs 4MB of L2 ECC cache shared by all of the four cores, as well as the standard I/O connectivity.
This includes support for eight PCI Express 2.0 lanes, four SATA 3Gbps ports, a DDR3/3L memory controller and an SD/eMMC controller.
Calxeda has used four such EnergyCore devices to build a complete server node that consumes only 20W, while also including 4GB of ECC memory and support for no less than 12 SATA 3Gbps storage devices.
“All the stars are in alignment: Web 2.0 data-driven businesses, cloud computing, open source portable software, power consumption at crisis levels and the emergence of server-class performance of ARM processors,” said Barry Evans, CEO and co-founder of Calxeda.
“We believe a new era of energy-efficient servers is now dawning for scale-out workloads, and today we are introducing the foundational architecture that will enable this breakthrough.
“While we are proud to launch our Calxeda EnergyCore processors, we are even more thrilled with the many partners who are joining us on this journey,” concluded the company's rep.
The Calxeda chips are available right now to the company's customers for evaluation purposes. HP has even built a server utilizing these new chips, packing 288 Calxeda servers in a single, 7-inch (4U) chassis.
For now, the machine is only available to developers, but HP can also sell them to interested parties. Commercial availability of the Calxeda chips is scheduled for the middle of 2012.
