AMD today announced that it is providing its Quad Core AMD Opteron processor for Windows Azure Compute Service, the cloud service operating system which is featured this week at PDC, as well as its selection as a key processor partner for cloud computing solutions by leading global web-based companies such as STRATO and DAUM Communications. Cloud Computing Environments (CCE) provide an opportunity for companies to increase capacity and capabilities without significantly increasing investments in software, personnel or infrastructure. The Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor with AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) technology and Direct Connect Architecture was selected because of its ability to deliver significant performance-per-watt efficiencies, successfully handle heavy peak workloads without sacrificing performance, enable massive cloud scaling and offer a reliable foundation that helps global, web-based CCE better manage the demands of a 24/7 uptime for enterprises large and small.

"Cloud computing environments require the performance and scalability to handle the heaviest user traffic peaks while balancing cost and power concerns," said Margaret Lewis, director, Commercial Software and Solutions, AMD. "The selection of Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors for demanding cloud computing environments is a testament to the power of AMD-V and the benefits of Direct Connect Architecture."

Microsoft Corp. announced the Community Technology Preview of its cloud services operating system, Windows Azure Compute Service, in Ray Ozzie's keynote today at the Microsoft Professional Developer Conference (PDC) 2008. Windows Azure is a highly optimized cloud services platform. The AMD Opteron processor features second level address translation (or Rapid Virtualization Indexing) which enables Microsoft to meet its design goals: efficient low-overhead virtual machine while meeting data center power requirements.

"At the start of Microsoft's engagement with AMD for this project, AMD Quad-Core Opteron processors were uniquely able to meet Microsoft's design goals," said Earl Stahl, vice president of Software Development, AMD. "For demanding cloud computing environments, the power of AMD-V and the benefits of Direct Connect Architecture demonstrate clear value."

Performance-per-Watt and Scalability Attract Global Customers
As computing increasingly moves into a CCE and software is delivered as a service, AMD continues to work with leading global partners and web-based companies to bring energy efficiency, scalability and high performance to today's evolving IT environments.

STRATO, Europe's second largest web host, has expanded its portfolio of virtual and dedicated servers with highly efficient Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processors to help achieve their business growth and green computing goals. For companies like STRATO that operate a CCE, the resource consolidation benefits can result in lowered energy consumption and superior utilization and manageability. Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors help businesses such as STRATO scale according to demand, boosting workloads efficiency, which increases their competitive edge and market opportunity.

"Our selection of the Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processor was based on the outstanding system-level performance, revolutionary features and performance-per-watt advantages of Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors," said Julien Ardisson, CTO, STRATO Rechenzentrum AG.

DAUM Communications, one of the largest portal sites in Korea, selected Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors to power its server systems for the company's next generation web search service infrastructure. DAUM is a major provider of email, search, news aggregation, shopping, chat and other web applications commonly hosted in a CCE. DAUM chose to install more than 1,000 AMD processor-based server systems as part of its strategy to enhance service quality and gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing online service market in Korea.

Rapid Virtualization Indexing Enhances Benefits of CCE
Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors with Rapid Virtualization Indexing (RVI) enhance the benefits of a CCE by offering performance advantages for demanding workloads like web serving. A key feature in AMD-V technology, RVI accelerates virtual-to-physical address translation functionality by performing these functions in hardware, which results in faster switching times between virtual machines. The complexity of memory management in virtualized environments is reduced when the extra layer of address translations introduced by virtualization is handled in hardware rather than software resources. RVI helps reduce Hypervisor cycles and the associated performance penalty that is commonly associated with virtualization.