AMD Releases ‘Seattle’ 64-Bit ARM Developer Kit

AMD has finally released its long awaited 64-bit ARM-based server chips, codenamed “Seattle”. But only to the developer community.

AMD said the move makes it the only company to provide a standard ARM Cortex-A57- based server platform for software developers and integrators.

Developer Offer

Developers can apply on the AMD website to get their hands on the AMD Opteron A1100-Series developer kit. It will cost them $2,999 or £1,775.

The kit comes in a microATX motherboard that has boasts an AMD Opteron A1100-Series processor with 4 cores. Also included are two registered DIMM with 16 GB of DDR3 DRAM; PCI Express connectors configurable as a single x8 or dual x4 ports; and eight Serial-ATA connectors.

AMD promises that it is compatible with standard power supplies and has a standard UEFI boot environment; as well as a Linux environment based on Fedora technology from the Red Hat-sponsored Fedora community.

“The journey toward a more efficient infrastructure for large-scale data centres is taking a major step forward today with broader availability of our AMD Opteron A1100-Series development kit,” said Suresh Gopalakrishnan, general manager and vice president, Server business unit at AMD.

Server Challenge

“After successfully sampling to major ecosystem partners such as firmware, OS, and tools providers, we are taking the next step in what will be a collaborative effort across the industry to reimagine the data centre based on the open business model of ARM innovation,” said Gopalakrishnan.

AMD is pinning its hopes for competing with Intel in the server market on the expected growth in popularity of server chips based on designs from ARM. It should be noted that the arrival of the Seattle server chip is a departure for the chip maker, which has traditionally used the same x86 instructions as Intel since the 1980s.

In April AMD extended its ARM-based roadmap, as part of its “ambidextrous computing” strategy, under which it is offering both x86 and ARM-based systems, as it seeks to tap into high-growth markets such as cloud infrastructure and mobile devices.

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