NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With its announcement today, HP (NYSE:HPQ) has become the first major systems vendor to commit to a new architecture based on an ARM processor core. According to a recently published report from 451 Research – From Brawny to Wimpy – The Rise of the Low-Power Server – owners of large-scale datacenters supporting Internet services and cloud computing are watching these developments closely.
"Despite ever-more-powerful CPUs, and the benefits and maturity that come from commoditization, x86 server development has essentially stagnated over the past 10 years," said John Abbott, Chief Analyst at 451 Research. "HP's 'Moonshot Architecture' represents a multiyear effort to establish a more efficient breed of extreme low-energy servers for hyper-scale use cases – such as large-scale Web, social media, content delivery, financial services, scalable analytics and 'big data' uses," continued Mr. Abbott.
Mainstream, power-hungry CPUs can turn out to be overkill for a new generation of Internet and cloud workloads that, on the whole, don't run x86 applications. For the largest datacenters, the difficulties of managing server sprawl, along with real constraints in power consumption and space, have led to a search for a new approach in systems design.
Silicon developed by ARM Ltd currently dominates the smartphone and tablet sector, with a market share of over 90%. But only recently has it become evident that ARM chips – and other mobile processors – might also be suitable for running certain types of server loads. ARM has started on the development of an ecosystem to support server development, including a strategic investment in system-on-a-chip startup Calxeda Inc. HP's first extreme low-energy server, the ProLiant SL 'Redstone,' due out in the first half of 2012, will be powered by Calxeda's ARM-based EnergyCore server CPU.
The 451 Research report, From Brawny to Wimpy – The Rise of the Low-Power Server, provides an introduction to how extreme low-energy servers fit into the current market landscape. It examines how they are likely to evolve over the next 18-24 months, and presents some typical use cases for currently available products and those about to come to market. It also takes a look at vendor developments in CPUs, server design and related software activities – from the large server vendors such as HP, IBM and Dell; from silicon specialists like Marvell Semiconductor and Nvidia; and from startups such as Calxeda and SeaMicro. For the first time in a long time, Intel faces a serious threat from some new competitors.
This 451 report also details some significant market hurdles. The ARM chip doesn't yet support 64-bit addressing. So-called 'wimpy' cores may not be sufficient for all needs, so it's important that performance factors are given as much weight as power efficiency and space concerns. And because many organizations are rapidly expanding the number of servers in use to handle growing workloads, it's essential that target applications will scale well at both the node and core-count levels, and that the associated infrastructure – including management points, cables, switches and storage – can be shared across multiple nodes for maximum efficiency.
About 451 Research
451 Research, a division of The 451 Group, is a leading technology-industry analyst company focused on the business of enterprise IT innovation. The company's analysts provide critical and timely insight into the market and competitive dynamics of innovation in emerging technology segments. Clients of the company – at vendor, investor, service-provider and end-user organizations – rely on 451 Research's insight to support both strategic and tactical decision-making. 451 Research is headquartered in New York, with offices in key locations, including San Francisco, Washington DC, London, Boston, Seattle and Denver.