Ampere's Advancement with Custom Arm-Based Cores

Ampere, a server technology company focused on Arm-based processors for data centers and edge computing, is currently holding its annual media event. The company’s existing 80-core Altra and 128-core Altra Max processors already demonstrate competitive performance, often surpassing Intel and AMD in numerous applications – and Altra Max is now fully available and being shipped to customers.

Transitioning to Custom Core Design

While the Altra and Altra Max chips utilize the standard ARM Neoverse N1 architecture, Ampere is poised to introduce its own uniquely designed Ampere Cores, fabricated using a 5nm process. This represents a significant step towards greater control and optimization.

“Altra and Altra Max are founded on the N1 core developed by Arm. As both an architecture and IP licensee, we are prepared to detail our own core’s development – its construction, rationale, and capabilities,” explained Ampere CEO Renee James, a veteran of 26 years at Intel. “Our vision is to create a cloud-native processor akin to Apple’s M1 for PCs, specifically tailored for cloud data center servers.”

Performance and Efficiency Gains

Ampere asserts that the 128-core Altra Max consumes 50% less power per core when contrasted with an AMD Rome CPU. Furthermore, it showcases performance improvements of up to 1.6x when running the NGINX web server. These benchmarks are even more favorable when compared against an Intel Cascade Lake Refresh CPU.

AMD’s Rome processor was released in August 2019, while Intel’s Cascade Lake Scalable Performance Refresh CPU has been available since February of the previous year.

Focus on Cloud-Native Workloads

“Our primary objective is to engineer a CPU specifically for the cloud, ensuring it meets the evolving demands of cloud-native workloads, modern software development practices, and contemporary infrastructure deployment models,” stated Ampere’s CPO Jeff Wittich. “This translates to a product delivering consistently high, predictable performance across diverse workloads and users, alongside a highly scalable platform for compute, memory, I/O, and networking, all while maintaining exceptional power efficiency.”

Strategic Core Development

Wittich emphasized that Ampere’s plan to develop its own cores was always integral to its strategy, driven by its focus on a specialized product for a defined use case. “From the outset, we recognized the importance of developing our own cores to facilitate the innovation required to meet our specific needs,” he added.

The company’s concentration on the cloud market – excluding client devices and other server segments – allows for the creation of a core optimized specifically for cloud applications.

Built-in Security and Manageability

Ampere’s cloud clientele require integrated security and manageability features for optimal performance and power consumption. These features must be incorporated at the micro-architectural level to function effectively and enable performance optimization.

“Developing our own cores is essential to deliver a processor that truly aligns with the cloud’s requirements,” Wittich explained. The Ampere Cores will feature enhanced I/O memory bandwidth, but will be optimized for cloud scenarios rather than high-performance computing.

Competitive Landscape and Customer Demand

James reinforced this point, highlighting the demanding nature of cloud customers and the competitive pressure from established players. “The cloud sector is highly specialized, and customers have exacting expectations,” she noted. “Maintaining a rapid development cadence is crucial as we compete against companies with robust product offerings.”

Growing Customer Base

Ampere’s strategy appears to be gaining traction, with major cloud providers like Microsoft, Oracle, and Tencent Cloud now among its customers. There are reports that Microsoft is also developing its own Arm-based chips, but is simultaneously preparing Azure to support Ampere’s Altra processors.

Image Credits: Ampere

Image Credits: Ampere