AMD today is launching the AMD Open 3.0 platform (formerly codenamed "Roadrunner,") a radical rethinking of the server motherboard designed to the standards developed by the Open Compute Project. AMD Open 3.0 enables substantial gains in computing flexibility, efficiency and operating cost by simplifying motherboard design with a single base product to address multiple enterprise workloads, including high-performance computing, cloud infrastructure and storage. This innovative design is optimized to eliminate features typically over-provisioned in traditional server offerings.

Today's servers are designed with a "one size fits most" approach incorporating many features and capabilities that can inefficiently utilize space and power, increasing cost. Many mega data centers have engineers developing optimized platforms with the minimum set of components for specific workloads. The desired result is a tailored solution with the ideal combination of power, space and cost. The AMD Open 3.0 platform is designed to easily enable IT professionals to "right size" the server to meet specific compute requirements. Fidelity Investments and Goldman Sachs are evaluating AMD Open 3.0 as part of their collaboration on the Open Compute Project.

AMD today unveiled nine new mid-range and entry-level AMD Opteron 4300 Series and 3300 Series server processors increasing performance per watt versus the previous generation to maximize compute capabilities in power-constrained environments1, while delivering outstanding value to cloud providers and web hosts. The AMD Opteron 3300 Series processors provide enterprise-class features in a low power envelope at a desktop processor price, making it ideal for web hosts and small- and medium-sized businesses.

The AMD Opteron 4300 Series processors offer up to 15 percent better performance versus the prior generation, based on SPECint benchmark results2. And SPECpower results show up to a 24 percent improvement in performance per watt. As with the AMD Opteron 6300 Series processors, these are socket compatible with the previous generation processor, providing an effortless upgrade path for customers.

Integrating new AMD Opteron 6300 processors, a full range of ASUS servers and server boards offers greater flexibility with five expansion slots and extreme computing power via support for up to four CPUs and two GPUs in select models (RS920A-E6/RS8, RS924A-E6/RS8 servers) to accommodate the needs of data center, enterprise and HPC applications. The dedicated BIOS developed by ASUS to make the most of the new processors is now available at the official ASUS support site.

RS920A-E6/RS8 and RS924A-E6/RS8 servers have been designed with a 4-way layout that supports up to four AMD Opteron 6300 processors on a single board, delivering extreme computing power and enhanced scalability. With each Opteron 6300 processor utilizing 16 cores, the new ASUS servers can sustain up to 64 cores as well as a maximum 512GB memory. They ship with four PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots plus one dedicated slot for an ASUS PIKE RAID card. This layout offers more flexible system setup and upgrade options, with an internal design that allows for up to twin double-deck graphics cards. The combined CPU/GPU power on offer creates high-output hybrid computing that matches the processing-intensive demands of HPC and data center applications.

AMD today demonstrated its ongoing support for high performance computing by providing massive compute capability, performance and flexibility for the world's number one ranked supercomputer. This ranking, the sixth number-one spot for AMD-based supercomputers in the last five years, highlights AMD's commitment to enabling indispensable computing technology by offering competitive performance at low cost.

The top supercomputer, a Cray XK7 nicknamed "Titan" and containing more than 18,000 AMD Opteron processors, was cited in the latest list of the Top500 Supercomputer Sites and is installed at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL).

AMAX, a leader in High-Performance Computing (HPC) solutions, today announced the immediate availability of its latest, most advanced CPU-based HPC solutions built upon the world's fastest 16-core x86 processor, the AMD Opteron 6300 series "Piledriver" CPUs.

The new server solutions target HPC, Big Data, Cloud, and Datacenter users with large scale-out applications seeking the highest performance and scalability to accelerate, transform and advance scientific discovery and business analytics. Multi-threaded workloads are becoming increasingly popular, but also ever more complex and demanding, and users are challenging AMAX to deliver solutions that provide a rich mix of performance, scalability and efficiency -- precisely what AMAX's ServMax server solutions with AMD Opteron 6300 series processors are engineered for.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. , a global leader in high-performance, high-efficiency server technology and green computing, has upgraded its line of A+ servers with the just released AMD (NYSE: AMD) Opteron 6300 Series processors. The new A+ server and tower platforms deliver up to 24 percent higher performance over prior generation solutions and maximize processor density and core counts to support more VMs for public and private cloud deployments. Performance per watt is up to 40 percent higher with intelligent thermal/power monitoring and management, enabling datacenters running robust large-scale software systems to maximize performance while lowering overall TCO. With dual-processor (DP) and multi-processor (MP) architectures, Supermicro ups the performance bar for data center and high-performance computing (HPC) cluster applications.

TYAN, an industry-leading server platform manufacturer and subsidiary of MiTAC International Corp. announces that its various G34 based platforms are compatible with AMD's upcoming Opteron 6300 Series Processors (codename: "Abu Dhabi") through a BIOS update. During SC'12 in Salt Lake City this year, AMD will showcase TYAN's new AMD Opteron 6300 based TA70-B8237 Road Runner platform which is designed for implementation into the cloud computing environment and TYAN will display the AMD Opteron supported platforms with PCIe flash LSI Nytro MegaRAID application acceleration cards which are fitting in datacenter, HPC and storage applications.

Global supercomputer leader Cray Inc. (NASDAQ: CRAY) today announced the Cray XE6 and Cray XE6m supercomputers are now available with the new AMD Opteron 6300 Series processor, using its next-generation "Piledriver" core. With a performance-per-watt that is up to 40 percent higher than prior generations, these new AMD (NYSE: AMD) Opteron processors are designed to enhance power efficiency with more application performance within the same power budget.

"Cray supercomputers are specifically designed to allow our customers to easily upgrade their systems so they can take advantage of the latest, most innovative processing technologies while also reducing their total-cost-of-ownership over the life of the system," said Peg Williams, Cray's senior vice president of high performance computing systems. "We believe the new AMD Opteron 6300 Series processors will significantly improve the performance and efficiency for Cray customers upgrading their current Cray XE6 and Cray XE6m systems. We look forward to delivering this capability to our customers."

AMD today unveiled its new AMD Opteron 6300 Series server processors based on its next-generation "Piledriver" core architecture. The new AMD Opteron processors deliver superior performance and scalability for virtualized server platforms that are central to private and public cloud deployments, big data systems and high-performance computing (HPC) clusters. The AMD Opteron 6300 Series processors strike the ultimate balance between performance, scalability and cost effectiveness to help IT organizations lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

The AMD Opteron 6300 Series processors offer industry-leading performance in SPECjbb2005, a server benchmark used to evaluate Java performance, with up to 24 percent higher performance versus the prior generation AMD Opteron 6200 Series processors. Java is a critical element of the software ecosystem for next-generation data centers. Performance per watt is up to 40 percent higher than the prior generation solutions(2), which means businesses running robust large-scale software systems will be able to enjoy high performance as well as low TCO.

In a bold strategic move, AMD announced that it will design 64-bit ARM technology-based processors in addition to its x86 processors for multiple markets, starting with cloud and data center servers. AMD's first ARM technology-based processor will be a highly-integrated, 64-bit multicore System-on-a-Chip (SoC) optimized for the dense, energy-efficient servers that now dominate the largest data centers and power the modern computing experience. The first ARM technology-based AMD Opteron processor is targeted for production in 2014 and will integrate the AMD SeaMicro Freedom supercompute fabric, the industry's premier high-performance fabric.

AMD's new design initiative addresses the growing demand to deliver better performance-per-watt for dense cloud computing solutions. Just as AMD introduced the industry's first mainstream 64-bit x86 server solution with the AMD Opteron processor in 2003, AMD will be the only processor provider bridging the x86 and 64-bit ARM ecosystems to enable new levels of flexibility and drive optimal performance and power-efficiency for a range of enterprise workloads.

Global supercomputer leader Cray Inc. today announced the launch of the Company's new series of production hybrid supercomputers -- the Cray XK7 system -- in conjunction with today's debut of the Cray XK7 supercomputer nicknamed "Titan" located at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Titan is capable of more than 20 petaflops of high performance computing (HPC) power and is the world's most powerful supercomputer for open science.

The Titan system is a 200-cabinet Cray XK7 supercomputer with 18,688 compute nodes each consisting of a 16-Core AMD Opteron 6200 Series processor and an NVIDIA Tesla K20 GPU Accelerator. Titan was upgraded from a Cray XT5 supercomputer nicknamed "Jaguar."

While AMD FX "Piledriver" client processors in the AM3+ package are just around the corner, slated for a little later this month, the company's first enterprise processors for servers and workstations, based on the new micro-architecture, are slated for mid-November, according to a report. AMD could begin with an overhaul of its multi-socket enabled Opteron 6200 series and single/dual-socket enabled Opteron 4200 series with the new Opteron 6300/4300 series, featuring the 8-core "Piledriver" silicon. The multi-socket enabled Opteron 6300 series will consist of nine models, tabled below.Source: MyDrivers

AMD today announced that a cluster of HP ProLiant BL465c Gen8 servers utilizing AMD Opteron 6200 Series processors has achieved the highest VMmark 2.1 score ever posted, representing a 40 percent increase over the next best score. VMmark is VMware's popular multi-server benchmarking tool that measures platform performance and scalability of virtualized environments. The record score of 59.99 at 62 tiles displaced a score of 42.79 at 36 tiles -- a 40 percent increase in performance and a 72 percent increase in the number of virtual machines (VMs).

For the benchmark, HP used 16 HP ProLiant BL465c Gen8 blades, the highest volume selling blade in the world, each running two 16-core AMD Opteron 6278 processors yielding a total of 496 VMs with an average of 31 VMs per blade at a cost of $371 per virtual machine. HP BladeSystem, the industry's only Converged Infrastructure architected for any workload from client to cloud, offers the performance and scalability needed to support an ideal virtualization platform for IT professionals who are moving to dense virtualization environments as a foundation for building both public and private clouds.

AMD today announced the availability of three pioneering innovations that firmly cement the company as the leader in fabric computing, micro servers and data center technology. The first innovation is a new chassis, AMD's SeaMicro SM15000 server, which extends fabric-based computing across racks and aisles of the data center to connect to massive disk arrays supporting over five petabytes of storage capacity. In addition, AMD is announcing a new generation of compute cards for its industry-leading micro servers based on AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon "Ivy Bridge" processors. These innovations continue the AMD tradition of providing industry-leading density, power efficiency and bandwidth for tomorrow's data center.

"We continue to drive innovation to meet the changing needs of the data center. The rise of virtualization, cloud computing, and big data require a new generation of compute in which networking and storage are equal partners in the solution. This does not fit the mold of traditional servers," said Andrew Feldman, general manager and corporate vice president of the Data Center Server Solutions group, AMD. "We are at the beginning of a new wave of computing that requires data centers to become pools of computing and storage resources with the flexibility to expand in both dimensions. The SM15000 system removes the constraints of traditional servers and allows data centers to expand compute, networking and storage independently. By supporting the newest generation of processors, the SM15000 server will continue our tradition of being the highest-density, and most power efficient micro server in the market."

AMD today announced that it has worked closely with Microsoft throughout the Windows Server 2012 development process to deliver an exceptional server solution powered by its award-winning AMD Opteron processors. AMD Opteron processors are ideally suited to deliver unparalleled server price performance, maximizing productivity and delivering compelling total cost of ownership (TCO) for customers.

Both companies have optimized their respective hardware and software technologies to address the rapidly expanding demands of today's business computing environments, from extensive virtualization and the continued move to cloud computing to managing increasingly larger amounts of online data. For example, Microsoft makes extensive use of servers powered by AMD Opteron processors in its Windows Azure public cloud. With Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V, customers can now enjoy unprecedented scalability with support for up to 64 virtual processors and one terabyte of memory per virtual machine and support for up to 4,000 virtual machines per cluster.

AMD today launched the AMD FirePro S9000 and S7000, the industry's most powerful dual- and single-slot server graphics cards for compute, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and workstation graphics deployments in data centers. Equipped with next-generation Graphics Core Next architecture and intelligent AMD PowerTune and ZeroCore Power technologies, the AMD FirePro S9000 and S7000 reduce power consumption by up to 95% at idle, meaning greater savings and reduced operating costs in the data center.

By using the AMD FirePro S9000 and S7000 server graphics, information technology (IT) managers can now effectively address a number of daily data center challenges, while empowering IT professionals to manage intense workloads securely from virtually anywhere in the world at virtually any time. By having the flexibility to set up multiple virtual desktops, scientists, engineers and graphics professionals can have access to accelerated productivity suites including computer aided design (CAD), and media and entertainment (M&E) applications, offering them workstation-class performance in a scalable network environment.

AMD today announced that it was selected for an award of $12.6 million for two research projects associated with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Extreme-Scale Computing Research and Development Program, known as “FastForward.” The DOE award provides up to $9.6 million to AMD for processor-related research and up to $3 million for memory-related researchi. AMD’s award-winning AMD Opteron processor has powered many of the world’s largest supercomputers over the past decade and the company invented the world’s first and only Accelerated Processing Unit (APU).

FastForward is a jointly funded collaboration between DOE Office of Science, and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to initiate partnerships with multiple companies to accelerate the research and development of critical technologies needed for extreme scale computing, on the path toward exascale computing. Exascale computing is essentially a grand challenge to provide the next level of computational power required to help ensure the prosperity and security of the United States. The DOE’s strategic plan seeks to address the nation’s most pressing scientific challenges by advancing simulation-based scientific discovery made possible by the world’s highest performing exascale supercomputers.

AMD today announced that Major League Baseball’s (MLB) San Francisco Giants selected AMD as a technology partner. The Giants have recently installed 66 new AMD A-Series Accelerated Processing Unit (APU)-based HP TouchSmart 320m All-In-One (AIO) touchscreen systems at AT&T Park, which will be followed by deployments of other AMD-powered systems throughout the organization.

“Our technology partnership with the San Francisco Giants puts AMD in a great position to showcase the role AMD technology can play to help large organizations harness the trends around consumerization, the Cloud and convergence to drive their business,” said Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Global Business Units. “From powering the front office infrastructure to the luxury suite experience at AT&T Park, AMD is ready to be a technology clean-up hitter for the Giants and their fans.”

AMD announced today that Dr. Suresh Gopalakrishnan, 49, has joined the company as corporate vice president and general manager of its server business, reporting to Dr. Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager, Global Business Units. In this role, Dr. Gopalakrishnan will lead AMD’s server business and is responsible for driving the end-to-end business execution of server solutions worldwide. Andrew Feldman will continue in his role as corporate vice president and general manager of AMD’s Data Center Server Solutions business, also reporting to Dr. Su.

“Today’s data center operators and enterprises need to reduce cost and power consumption while increasing performance, and AMD has been working hard to meet these needs with our AMD Opteron processor family and SeaMicro fabric technology,” said Dr. Su. “Under Suresh’s leadership, we will accelerate our disruptive server strategy by leveraging our broad IP portfolio to deliver superior products designed to offer the world’s best performance-per-dollar and power efficiency.”

AMD today announced its continued leadership in high performance computing (HPC) with 24 of the top 100 supercomputers in the 39th TOP500 list, announced today, while making significant strides in maturing its HPC ecosystem through the addition of several key components that enable end users to continue to benefit from best-in-class price/performance for today's demanding applications.

AMD has continued to work closely with its technology partners to significantly mature its HPC ecosystem, resulting in several new developments including LS-DYNA simulation software optimized for the AMD Opteron 6200 Series processors from Livermore Software Technology Corporation (LSTC), the addition of programming options for AMD graphics processor unit (GPU) technology from CAPS, and the announcement by Mellanox Technologies of its Connect-IB products that will deliver FDR 56 Gb/s InfiniBand speeds to AMD's solution portfolios.

To further capitalize on the opportunity for Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) in embedded applications and form factors, AMD today announced the formation of a new Embedded Solutions Group and appointed Arun Iyengar as its corporate vice president and general manager. The AMD Embedded Solutions Group will operate as a separate business within AMD's Global Business Units under AMD Senior Vice President Lisa Su.

"AMD APUs have been extremely well received by embedded system designers who require more graphic-intensive displays and compute power, while continuing to increase our engagement with ecosystem partners to deliver a complete solution," said Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Global Business Units. "Arun's appointment and dedicated focus on expanding our differentiated embedded offerings will help ensure we are seizing the opportunity to expand in this rapidly growing market."

AMD announced today that Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Mike Wolfe is the inaugural 2012 honoree of the Transformational CIO Award, which recognizes leading-edge CIOs. Wolfe was recognized by The Enterprise CIO Forum for his pioneering approach to the strategic use of IT to transform AMD’s business by reducing costs, increasing efficiency and bolstering productivity.

Wolfe, who has overseen a significant and successful consolidation of AMD’s worldwide data centers, uses AMD technology for the company’s engineering development and support infrastructure, including managing cloud computing solutions running on more than 123,000 AMD Opteron processor cores.

At the Open Compute Summit, AMD - a member of Open Compute and a leader in driving open standards - today unveiled a flexible and innovative Open Compute Project server platform specification, codenamed "Roadrunner," to enable power-efficient, cost-effective solutions. "Roadrunner" is specifically designed to meet the general purpose compute, cloud infrastructure, high-performance compute and storage needs of the financial services industry. This move is in line with the Open Compute Project's mission of driving further innovation and greater energy efficiency in infrastructure technology.

Incorporating feedback from financial customers, the "Roadrunner" motherboard specification is intended to integrate the features that the financial services industry demands into a dense platform, stripping out unnecessary components and optimizing the most important ones. Using the AMD Opteron 6000 Series processors, which offer the highest memory capacity and bandwidth operation in the AMD family, "Roadrunner" is a feature-correct motherboard that is also extremely energy-efficient and slashes total cost of ownership (TCO).

HP today announced that AMD has improved business efficiency and streamlined operations by consolidating its worldwide data centers and standardizing on HP Networking solutions.

AMD's innovative computing and graphics technologies run a wide range of computing devices - such as personal computers, game consoles and servers - all of which power internet and business operations spanning cloud computing and virtualization environments throughout the world.

With 18 data centers worldwide, AMD recognized the need to consolidate its infrastructure to optimize resources as well as improve power and cooling efficiency. AMD conducted a comprehensive testing and review process of solutions from multiple networking vendors before choosing HP. The HP 12500 Switch Series and HP 5820 Switch Series will be used in AMD's newest private cloud data center, where the company makes heavy use of virtualization and cluster technologies.

AMD today announced that TELUS, a leading Canadian telecommunications company, has chosen AMD Opteron processors to power its latest offering, the TELUS AgilIT Virtual Private Cloud. The TELUS AgilIT Virtual Private Cloud, announced today, offers AMDs' immense processing capabilities at outstanding power/performance per-dollar.

TELUS chose AMD Opteron 6100 Series processors as well as the new AMD Opteron 6200 Series processors, which are based on the high-throughput core formerly codenamed "Bulldozer," to power its cloud. AMD's high-performance server processors are ideal to help TELUS deliver computing resources on-demand across three world-class data centers located in Canada.