Cloud-native processor

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A cloud-native processor (CNP) is a general purpose central processing unit (CPU) specifically designed to support the growing number of cloud-native computing applications which do not require any on-site computing infrastructure, or software designed specifically to create, build and store information over the cloud. [1] [2] According to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, cloud-native technologies, such as containers, service meshes, microservices, immutable infrastructure, [3] and declarative APIs, [4] enable scalable applications in public, private, and hybrid clouds. [2] [5]

Contents

Technology

Cloud-native processors offer more cores than everyday x86 processors, between 80 and 256 cores, which allows for simultaneous connections in a cloud environment resulting in scalability. [6] [7] [8] The processors are also smaller with more efficient power usage and can run both enterprise and cloud-native applications, making them more cost effective than other alternatives. [9] Cloud-native processors are an ESG-friendly option for data centers, which are predicted to use 11 percent of the world's electricity by 2030. [10] [11] [12]

Additional benefit in some cloud-native processors comes from their not using simultaneous multithreading, as in contrast everyday x86 processors typically have two threads per core. [13] [14] In a cloud environment, where multiple users use different applications sharing the same core, simultaneous multithreading processors have compromised consistency and predictability in performance, as there will be a slowdown under heavy load. [14]

Products

Ampere Computing, founded in 2018, released a cloud-native processor in 2020. [9] That processor, the Ampere Altra, and its successor, the Ampere Altra Max, are used by Oracle, Microsoft Azure, Tencent, Alibaba, and ByteDance. [9] In 2021, Alibaba released its Yitian 710 processor as a cloud-native processor. [8] Since 2017, AMD has offered its Epyc processors with extraordinarily high thread counts (when compared to Intel x86 processors) afforded by their chiplet assembly, but in 2022 started adopting the "cloud native" nomenclature in its press releases. [15] [16] In 2022, Ampere announced a new custom-designed core, [17] [9] [18] and Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced a cloud-native server based on Ampere's cloud-native processors. [19] Since 2023, Intel has touted its 4th generation Xeon processors as handling "cloud-native workloads", [20] especially using Kubernetes, due to the fine-grained control of memory and cache afforded by Intel's Resource Director Technology (RDT). [21]

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References

  1. ↑ Sotikare, Taiwo (2022-09-30). "How to Choose the Best Cloud Computing Software for Your Small Business". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  2. 1 2 Carey, Scott (2021-08-17). "What is cloud native? The modern way to develop software". InfoWorld. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  3. ↑ Bigelow, Stephen (2022-11-30). "Definition: immutable infrastructure". TechTarget . Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  4. ↑ Verma, Getty (2021-03-01). "Auto-scaled Business Logic Using Declarative APIs and Microservices in Clouds vs Legacy IT" . Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  5. ↑ "What is Cloud Native? 5 Principles of Cloud Native Software". Capital One. 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  6. ↑ Mann, Tobias (2022-03-21). "AMD Takes On Intel With Cache Stacked Milan-X EPYCs". SDX Central. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  7. ↑ Verry, Tim (2020-06-23). "Ampere Expands Altra Lineup to Include 128 Core Altra Max Processors - PC Perspective". pcper.com. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  8. 1 2 Sharwood, Simon (2021-10-19). "Alibaba Cloud reveals home-spun Yitian 710 Arm server CPU". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Gooding, Matthew (2022-08-02). "Why Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud love Ampere Computing's server chips". Tech Monitor. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  10. ↑ Santo, Brian (2020-03-11). "Startup Ampere Attacks Intel's Strength". EE Times. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  11. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (2020-03-03). "Ampere Altra is the first 80-core ARM-based server processor". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  12. ↑ Peeler, Hannah (2021-11-29). "Achieving informed carbon reduction in the data center". arm.com. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  13. ↑ "ARM vs X86 | Top 13 Differences of ARM vs X86 you Should Know". EDUCBA. 2020-04-25. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  14. 1 2 Chandramouli, Subra (2020-07-05). "Debunking Myths About Cloud Native Servers". EE Times India. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  15. ↑ "AMD Details Strategy to Drive Next Phase of Growth Across $300 Billion Market for High-Performance and Adaptive Computing Solutions" (Press release). Santa Clara, California: AMD. 2022-06-09. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  16. ↑ Krewell, Kevin (2022-07-20). "Together, AMD, Pensando, And Xilinx Advance Their Roadmaps". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  17. ↑ Kennedy, Patrick (2022-05-28). "Ampere Announces 5nm Arm Server CPU AmpereOne". ServeTheHome. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  18. ↑ Patel, Dylan (2022-06-01). "Is Ampere Computing's Cloud Native Marketing Fluff? – Siryn Ampere One 5nm Architecture, Cost Analysis, and IPO Analysis". semianalysis.substack.com. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  19. ↑ Kamili, Mujtaba (2022-06-29). "TECHHPE announces offering new cloud-native servers using Ampere Arm chips". SolidSystems Global. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  20. ↑ Hoban, Adrian (2023-02-01). "Kubernetes - Resource Orchestration for 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors" (PDF). Intel . Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  21. ↑ "Intel® Resource Director Technology (Intel® RDT) Framework". Intel . Retrieved 2023-10-14.
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