Having recently made its plans with the server market public, AMD demonstrated a 4-socket server featuring four 12-core, next-generation Opteron processors. That's 48 cores in all. The company has pulled its six-core Istanbul Opteron processors' launch from H2 2008 to Q2 2008, and is set to launch its Opteron 6000 series processors based on the "Magny Cours" architecture in 2010.

Processors in the series come with 8 or 12 cores. The company seems to be ready with a few of these, enough to put together a 4-socket demo system. While AMD did not run any benchmarks on the system, it managed to draw some attention due to the fact that there hasn't been so much parallelism in a 4-way server till date. On the course of its 2010 launch, the company may hold more demonstrations, perhaps with benchmarks to show how the platform compares to competing solutions from rival Intel. The "Magny Cours" processor will be the first in line for the company's G34 "Maranello" platform for AMD Opteron 6000 series processors with up to 16 cores, 4 sockets, and quad-channel memory interfaces per socket. The 16-core processor in the making is slated for 2011, is based on the Bulldozer architecture, and will be built on the 32 nm process.

At the AMD Opteron processor Sixth Anniversary event at its Sunnyvale campus, AMD today announced game-changing new additions to its server platform roadmap and a significant acceleration in roadmap execution.

• Months ahead of schedule, AMD plans to deliver the six-core AMD Opteron processor code named "Istanbul" in June this year, with up to 30 percent more performance within the same power envelope and on the same platform as current Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors.
• AMD unveiled Direct Connect Architecture 2.0, the next stage of server processor innovation: up to 12 cores initially, with superior memory and I/O capability, near native virtualization performance, and a range of full-featured power bands that continue to place a priority on low power consumption.
• AMD believes a customer value shift is currently underway, transforming the server market, with the high end moving toward performance and expandability and virtualization driving a need for more cores and greater scalability. At the lower end, AMD sees power management and overall value as primary drivers for cloud computing and ultra-dense environments that demand greater energy efficiency.
• In 2010, AMD plans to ship the AMD Opteron 6000 series for 2P and 4P servers that are designed to address the highly virtualized, high performance computing and database markets. The 6000 series will debut on the G34 socket and the "Maranello" platform, with the 8- and 12-core "Magny-Cours" processors.
• The upcoming AMD Opteron 4000 series is also planned for introduction in 2010 for 1P and 2P servers and designed to address virtualized Web and cloud computing environments. The 4000 series will launch with the C32 socket and "San Marino" platform with the 4- and 6-core "Lisbon" processor.
• The "Interlagos" 12- and 16-core processor, based on the "Bulldozer" core and manufactured on 32nm process technology, is planned to ship in 2011 and will also be supported by the "Maranello" platform. The 6- to 8-core "Valencia" processor, also manufactured on 32nm process technology, is planned for shipment in 2011 on the "San Marino" platform.

AMD has extended its 45 nm Opteron processor line-up with new energy-efficient chips fitting within a 40W power envelope, designed for very dense data center environments such as those built for cloud computing or web serving. Available immediately, the new Opteron EE chips include the 2.1 GHz Opteron 2373 EE with 6 MB L3 Cache and the 2.3 GHz Opteron 2377 EE with the same cache size. Since they are part of the Shanghai Opteron architecture, the new EE chips have the same features as all other Shanghai Opterons and are not cut-down versions.
AMD today also launches a total of ten other Opteron CPUs, that enrich the company's server HE (55W), standard (75W), and high-performance SE (105W) power bands. These are the 2.4 GHz Opteron 2379 HE ($450), the 2.4 GHz Opteron 8379 HE ($1165), the 2.5 GHz Opteron 2381 HE ($575), the 2.5 GHz Opteron 8381 HE ($1514), the standard 2.8 GHz Opteron 2387 ($873), the 2.8 GHz Opteron 8387 ($2149), the 2.9 GHz Opteron 2389 ($989), the 2.9 GHz Opteron 8389 ($2649), and the two Opteron SE 2393 and 8393 SE with 3.1 GHz clock speeds and $1165 and $2649 price tags respectively. All ten CPUs have 6 MB of L3 cache.

The CUDA architecture continues to blaze a trail as the leading platform for developing and running GPU Computing applications, with support for C, OpenCL, DirectX Compute, Fortran and other languages and APIs. The latest CUDA 2.2 Beta contains a host of significant new features, including:

Hardware debugger for the GPU
Linux developers can now use a debugger on CUDA-enabled GPUs that offers both the familiar interface of the popular open-source GDB debugger and the ability to debug kernels as they execute on the GPU. The GPU-side debugger has all the features that developers expect from GDB, including the ability to have breakpoints, watch variables, inspect state, etc., as well as additional functions for CUDA-specific features.

Wanna see what crazy is? How about 23 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 video cards installed in a single rig. Yep, that's not a typo. Named Atlas Folder, this wholesale pack of G200b GPUs (dubbed: folding server farm) is like an industrial grinder for Folding@Home. Watch the cool YouTube video here and feel free to leave a comment. I bet even NVIDIA engineers dream for such a monstrous distributed computing station.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced its patented RAIDDrive, which dramatically increases the performance and slot capacity of PCI Express-based storage solution. The new RAIDDrive is the market's largest and most innovative server-based solid-state storage solution, and an extension of its patented technology from the RAIDSSD product lines.

IBM today unveiled a new generation of Intel Xeon processor 5500 series-based System x servers and software that enable customers to more easily roll out virtualized computing and significantly reduce growing operating costs with higher performance, simplified management and increased utilization.
With the new systems, IBM engineers addressed key challenges in today's data center, where hefty costs for power usage and IT management pile-up, while processors sit idle or under-utilized. To help enable a more dynamic infrastructure, IBM's four new x86 rack servers and blades feature unique designs -- such as lower wattage requirements -- that can slash energy costs up to 93 percent. At the same time, the new System x servers boast double the compute performance in some models, and support more memory, storage and I/O to help customers of all sizes ease the transition to highly efficient virtualized computing resources. System x blades and racks lead the industry with 96 GB to 1 TB memory options.

Super Micro Computer, Inc., a leader in application-optimized, high-performance server solutions, today launched a comprehensive new line of server and workstation solutions specially designed to support the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 series (formerly codenamed Nehalem). Supermicro has started shipping its new 2U Twin2 ("Twin Squared" with four hot-pluggable DP nodes), newly invented Twin GPU 1U server/workstation, the award-winning 1U Twin, SuperBlade, flexible Universal I/O (UIO) server, SAS2 storage systems, as well as its strong line of traditional application-optimized server solutions. Featuring the highest efficiency in the industry power supplies (93%+), cooling subsystems and motherboard designs, Supermicro solutions set a new record for the best performance-per-watt (375 GFLOPS/kW) and also deliver the best performance-per-dollar and performance-per-square-foot.

Based on the company's latest application-optimized Server Building Block architectures, Supermicro maximizes the new Nehalem technology, which includes QPI (Intel QuickPath Interconnect) for up to 6.4GT/s, Integrated DDR3 Memory Controller, multiple power envelops, and Intel Turbo Boost Technology, to provide the industry's highest performing and most optimized new generation server solutions.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it is shipping both 1333- and 1066MHz DDR3 server memory modules validated by Intel for use on its Xeon processor-based motherboards. Kingston's registered ECC server DIMMs and unbuffered ECC DIMMs are optimized to take advantage of the triple-channel architecture for Intel's newest server platforms using the new Nehalem-based Xeon processors.

The 1333- and 1066MHz DDR3 server modules are available immediately. Kingston server memory is backed by a lifetime warranty and free, 24/7 technical support. For more detailed information visit www.kingston.com. For Intel validation information visit this page.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced immediate availability of DDR3 Registered DIMMs (RDIMMs) and DDR3 ECC Unbuffered DIMMs (ECC UDIMMs).

Super Talent's 1GB and 2GB ECC UDIMMs are immediately available in production volumes and support speeds up to 1333MT/s for single DIMM per channel operation and 1066MT/s for two DIMM per channel operation. Super Talent's 1GB x8 RDIMM is also immediately available in production volumes and supports speeds up to 1333MT/s for single DIMM per channel operation, 1066MT/s for two DIMM per channel operation, and 800MT/s for three DIMM per channel operation. All these products are designed to be compatible with Intel's upcoming Nehalem EP Server Platform.

Kingston Technology Company, the independent world leader in memory products, today announced its 1333 MHz DDR3 server memory modules were validated by Intel for use on its Xeon processor-based motherboards. Kingston's registered ECC server ValueRAM DIMMs are optimized to take advantage of the triple-channel architecture for Intel's newest server platforms using the new Nehalem-based Xeon processors. The 1333 MHz DDR3 server modules will be available in 3 GB and 6 GB triple-channel kits. Kingston server memory is backed by a lifetime warranty and free, 24/7 technical support. For Intel validation information, please click here.

Ubuntu's contribution to propagating Linux to the client platforms (general desktop/notebook) is invaluable. Its developers are known to codename major builds of the OS after animals. An upcoming version, 9.10 has been codenamed "Karmic Koala", after the cute and cuddly animal from south-east Australia. Going by Ubuntu's six-month development cycle, 9.10 should follow 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope" slated for this April, and should be coming out by October.

The new client-version is expected to be netbook-friendly, with having significantly lower boot times. The target booting time for 9.04 is 25 seconds, while the developers hope to improve that figure further with 9.10. The developers will be integrating features from Intel's Moblin platform in order to improve performance on Atom-based devices. The Server Edition based on Ubuntu, which is steadily gaining in adoption, yet lagging behind offerings from market heavyweights such as Red Hat and Novell, will also get its share of improvements, one of the most important of them being enhanced support for cloud-computing.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA NSR7800 2U rackmount server for network storage solution providers. Powered by a 1.5GHz VIA C7 processor, the VIA NSR7800 offers system integrators the opportunity to provide unparalleled power and energy-efficient server solutions to today's energy-conscious small and medium sized business customers.

With eight 3.5" S-ATA II hard drive bays, the VIA NSR7800 is the perfect balance of power-efficiency, performance and capacity, an ideal starting point for a variety of rackmount server applications including email, file and web server products. The VIA NSR7800's drive bays are easily accessible through lockable front levers that allow hard drives to be securely installed in moments. Dual Gigabit LAN ensures fast data transfer speeds.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA NSD7800 home server, supporting up to 8 full sized hard drives with a fraction of the hassle associated with larger servers, enabling system integrators to offer the ideal solution for SOHO and family storage needs. Measuring only 13.4" x 13.4" x 5.9" (34cm x 34cm x 15cm) and powered by an energy-efficient 1.5GHz VIA C7-D processor, the VIA NSD7800 offers substantial storage space through its eight easy access 3.5" drive bays. The VIA NSD7800 server is fully compatible with Microsoft Windows Home Server so that users can now securely store their personal data and enjoy peace of mind with automatic data mirroring, as well as easy access to documents while away from home.

Nanya Technology Corporation, one of the worldwide leading DRAM manufacturers, today announced it is shipping 800MHz DDR2 registered dual in-line memory module (RDIMM) designed specifically for the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor, to help optimize performance of high-end server systems and workstation applications.
"Nanya worked closely with AMD on the launch of the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor (codenamed "Shanghai") to ensure that Nanya DDR2 800 RDIMM would take advantage of the dramatic enhancements in energy efficiency and performance enabled by the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors," said Dr. Pei Lin Pai, Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing and Spokesman of Nanya Technology Corporation.

TYAN, an industry-leading server platform provider, today announced at SC'08 that its current line of 23 AMD Opteron processor-based platforms and 1 new AMD Opteron- processor based product will support the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor (codenamed "Shanghai"). Customers can achieve superior performance, low power consumption and low total cost of ownership by upgrading to the new TYAN platforms powered by the enhanced Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor built on 45nm process technology. TYAN platforms that support the previous Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors are socket compatible and will only require a BIOS update to support this next-generation processor.

Intel informed today that it will be phasing out a large number of server Xeon processors during the next eight months. That's mainly because of the forthcoing Nehalem platform and the new Core i7 processors. Intel also said that it is already producing more 45nm processors than 65nm chips, so it's time for some of the 65nm parts to drop off the charts. The list includes six dual-core Xeon processors with Woodcrest core, these are the 1.86GHz Xeon 5120, 2.66GHz 5150, 2.33GHz LV 5148, 1.60GHz 5110, 2.0GHz 5130, 2.33GHz 5140 and 3.0GHz 5160. The list continues with nine quad-core models with Clovertown core, the 1.86GHz E5320, 1.86GHz L5320, 3.0GHz X5365, 2.66GHz X5355, 1.60GHz E5310, 2.33GHz E5345, 2.0GHz E5335 and 2.0GHz L5335. Sales of different variations of these CPUs are also going to be phased out. The total count is 31 server models, that won't be produced anymore. Final customer orders for these processors can be submitted until April 23, 2009. Intel plans the final shipment of these processors for July 23, 2009.

Intel Corporation has extended its lead in the high-end server segment, setting new standards in virtualization performance with the launch of seven 45 nanometer (nm)-manufactured Intel Xeon Processor 7400 Series products. With up to six processing cores per chip and 16MB of shared cache memory, applications built for virtualized environments and data demanding workloads, such as databases, business intelligence, enterprise resource planning and server consolidation, experience dramatic performance increases of almost 50 percent in some cases.

On September 15th Intel plans to fabricate the Intel Xeon 7400 Dunnington series processor, the company's last Penryn generation processor to be released. Xeon 7400 will mark the end of a previous server era, and after it the new Nehalem Core i7 processor family will start to appear in the fourth quarter. The Xeon 7400 will be Intel's first 6-core server chip. It will be produced using 45nm high-k process technology and will boast 16MB of L3 cache. The Xeon 7400 Dunnington series is also one of the first Intel chips to have a monolithic design, like Nehalem. In other words, all six cores will be on one piece of silicon. To date, for any processor having more than two cores, Intel has put two separate pieces of silicon - referred to as die - inside of one chip package. Server vendors announcing Xeon 7400 powered products will include Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, IBM and Unisys, according to Intel senior vice president Pat Gelsinger.

Intel Atom, the 'small wonder' of the computing industry, may have been making a mark with ULPC notebooks and inexpensive ITX solutions, but the UK-based web-hosting company Bytemark found a new application of this chip, dedicated servers. The Atom processors have sufficient computing power to handle web server processes. In Bytemark's words, they're "pushing the boundaries of what Intel Atom was intended to do". Although for now the design is simplistic, ITX based, Bytemark plans to take this concept to a large-scale, making inexpensive, energy-efficient servers. A dedicated server with a 1.60 GHz Atom, 2 GB memory, 2x 100 GB HDDs in RAID 1 (that's 100 GB of available storage), for £495 (US $992) per annum.

MSI Announces Motherboards and Server Barebones Supporting AMD Quad-Core Opteron

Along with the new generation AMD Opteron processors (code-named Barcelona), MSI has launched its new server products - K9NU Speedster server board and K1-106 rack server.

Based around the nForce 3400 chipset, K9NU-Speedster Series motherboards and K1-106 Series server barebones support single AMD Opteron 2200 series quad-core processors. K9NU-Speedster Series also provide memory bandwidth up to 8.5GB/s (DDR2-533) or 10.5GB/s (DDR2-667). XGI Volari Z7 graphic processor with 16MB video memory can meet users' needs without adding a graphics adapter. However, both motherboards have two PCI-E x16 slot supporting NVIDIA SLI technology for future expansion.