Calxeda

Last updated

Calxeda Inc.
Industry Semiconductor industry
Founded2008
FounderBarry Evans, Larry Wikelius, David Borland
Defunct2013
Headquarters,
USA
Products System on a chip
Websitewww.calxeda.com — defunct

Calxeda (previously known as Smooth-Stone) [1] was a company that aimed to provide computers based on the ARM architecture for server computers. It operated from 2008 through 2013. [2]

Contents

Calxeda claimed reduced energy consumption as well as better cost per throughput, compared to x86-based server manufacturers. They competed in the many-core server market against Intel and AMD, other recent ARM-based server vendors such as Marvell Technology Group (the Armada XP product), and the multi-core processor manufacturer Tilera. [3] [4]

History

In March 2011 Calxeda announced a 480-core server in development, consisting of 120 quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPUs. [5] [6] [7]

In November 2011 Calxeda announced the EnergyCore ECX-1000, featuring four 32-bit ARMv7 Cortex-A9 CPU cores operating at 1.1–1.4 GHz, 32 KB L1 I-cache and 32 KB L1 D-cache per core, 4 MB shared L2 cache, 1.5 W per processor, 5 W per server node including 4 GB of DDR3 DRAM, 0.5 W when idle. [8] [9] Each chip included five 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports. Four chips are carried on each EnergyCard. [8]

The UK-headquartered company Boston Limited announced in 2011 appliances based on the Calxeda EnergyCore system on a chip products. [10] Boston's appliances, marketed under the Viridis brand, were demonstrated in November 2012. [11] Hewlett-Packard used Calxeda products for a server product known as Moonshot in November 2011, named after the Redstone rocket. [12]

On December 19, 2013, Calxeda was reported to be restructuring, widely referred to as shutting down its operation due to running out of the capital venture funding, after failing to secure the deal with Hewlett-Packard. [2] [13]

In December 2014 the intellectual property developed by Calxeda re-emerged with a company called Silver Lining Systems (SLS). [14]

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References

  1. Timothy Prickett Morgan (November 16, 2010). "Calxeda gears up for server ARM race". The Register. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Jack Clark (December 19, 2013). "ARM server chip upstart Calxeda bites the dust just before Christmas". The Register. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  3. Agam Shah (March 11, 2011). "Calxeda's ARM chips designed for 480-core servers". Network World. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  4. Rick Merritt (March 11, 2011). "Calxeda gives a peek into its ARM server SoC". EE Times. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  5. Matthew Humphries (March 14, 2011). "Calxeda to offer 480-core ARM server". geek.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  6. Timothy Prickett Morgan (March 14, 2011). "Calxeda boasts of 5 watt ARM server node". The Register. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  7. Rich Fichera (March 14, 2011). "Calxeda opens the kimono for a tantalizing tease of new ARM servers". ZDNet.
  8. 1 2 "EnergyCore ECX-1000: Technical Specifications". Calxeda. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  9. Timothy Prickett Morgan (November 1, 2011). "Calxeda hurls EnergyCore ARM at server chip Goliaths: Another David takes aim at Xeon, Opteron". The Register. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  10. "Boston unveils Viridis-branded appliances based on Calxeda EnergyCore SoCs". Press release. Boston Limited. November 15, 2011. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  11. "Boston Presents the First ARM Cluster That Consumes Only 5W of Power at Supercomputing 2012". Press release. Boston Limited. November 13, 2012. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  12. Timothy Prickett Morgan (November 1, 2011). "HP Project Moonshot hurls ARM servers into the heavens: Redstone clusters launch Calxeda chips". The Register. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  13. "Calxeda Closes Shop, Attempts to Restructure". HPCwire. January 6, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  14. Jeffrey Burt (December 20, 2014). "Calxeda's ARM-Based Server Chips Re-emerge With New Company". EWeek. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.