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AMD Must Avoiding Losing Focus in Micro-Server War, Says Microprocessor Report

By Tiernan Ray

Venerable chip newsletter Microprocessor Report this week features an interesting piece by Jag Bolaria regarding Advanced Micro Devices‘s (AMD) push into so-called micro-servers, which make use of lower-power processors more often found in mobile computing devices. (Subscription required to read Microprocessor Report articles.)

Bolaria, referring to the annoucement two weeks ago by AMD of its server roadmap for 2014, writes that after losing most of its server market share in recent years, AMD has a chance to repair things if it can execute, because “System manufacturers are encouraging multiple processor suppliers to counter Intel’s dominance.”

AMD’s current “Jaguar” CPU core is “comparable to Intel’s (INTC) Atom CPU, although its capabilities are more similar to the forthcoming Silvermont than the current Atom design,” he notes. One of the new chips, “Berlin,” will use the new “Steamroller” core, while the other, “Seattle,” will rely on the “Cortex-A57” CPU core design from ARM Holdings (ARMH).

Bolaria writes that AMD is starting from a good place, as the existing “Opteron X1150? part in the market now “blows away the Atom S1260 (Centerton)” part from Intel, and AMD has performed the most integration into the chip of other system functions that servers need:

Having integrated the traditional system-logic chipset, Opteron X boasts the highest integration of any x86 server processor. It includes USB2/3, PCIe Gen2, SATA II/III, and legacy interfaces. This high integration makes the processor attractive for dense microserver applications. The on-chip memory controller supports DDR3 with ECC at up to 1,600MT/s and can support two DIMMs for a total of 64GB of memory. Server enhancements, such as reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) features, increase the TDP to 22W, compared with Kabini. The X2150 also trims the maximum CPU clock rate to 1.9GHz and the maximum GPU frequency to 600MHz.

A big question is whether the Berlin part will best Intel’s forthcoming “Avoton” server chip when it comes to integration, he writes:

Berlin’s performance could take the device into Xeon E3 turf, but with the benefit of greater integration. Out of concern for maintaining Avoton’s segmentation, Intel may be reluctant to support this integration level on the E3. If so, AMD could lay exclusive claim to a growing x86 server market that wants an SoC and high performance at reasonable power efficiency.

When it comes to competing with other vendors of ARM’s intellectual property, such as Applied Micro Circuits (AMCC), AMD is coming late to market. But Bolaria thinks that’s okay if the company’s server assets prove themselves in the Seattle part:

Seattle’s technical specifications fall short of X-Gene from AppliedMicro, which is closest to offering an ARM server processor. X-Gene is currently sampling at about 2.4GHz and is scheduled to sample at 3.0GHz by the end of this year—about one quarter ahead of Seattle. Seattle will also compete for design wins with ARM-based server processors from Calxeda, Cavium, and others, AMD can achieve a competitive edge by using its extensive experience developing server processors and knowing which IP to integrate. Specifically, it has highperformance DRAM controllers, RAS features, and experience in optimizing the cache-memory subsystem.

He ends with the admonition that AMD must avoiding losing focus and must execute crisply:

Having three server-product lines in flight, AMD is in danger of spreading itself too thin and hampering its ability to deliver a competitive ARM server product as well as a competitive x86 server-processor lineup. Furthermore, AMD is a competitor for OEM customers as it continues to ship server systems and that could push customers to competitors. Consequently, we expect customers to wait until the company delivers production-worthy products before making long-term commitment. Thus AMD’s future rests on its product execution.

AMD shares today closed down 13 cents, or 3.2%, at $3.97.
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2013/07/02/amd-must-avoiding-losing-focus-in-micro-server-war-says-microprocessor-report/?mod=BOLBlog