I’ve been discussing the idea of ARM servers for a couple of years and had early discussions with some folks with ARM on whether there was a scenario for ARM servers.
Today Nvidia announces an ARM processor targeting the server scenario.
NVIDIA Announces "Project Denver" to Build Custom CPU Cores Based on ARM Architecture, Targeting Personal Computers to Supercomputers
NVIDIA Licenses ARM Architecture to Build Next-Generation Processors That Add a CPU to the GPULAS VEGAS, NV -- (Marketwire) -- 01/05/2011 -- CES 2011 -- NVIDIA announced today that it plans to build high-performance ARM® based CPU cores, designed to support future products ranging from personal computers and servers to workstations and supercomputers.
Known under the internal codename "Project Denver," this initiative features an NVIDIA® CPU running the ARM instruction set, which will be fully integrated on the same chip as the NVIDIA GPU.
This new processor stems from a strategic partnership, also announced today, in which NVIDIA has obtained rights to develop its own high performance CPU cores based on ARM's future processor architecture. In addition, NVIDIA licensed ARM's current Cortex™-A15 processor for its future-generation Tegra® mobile processors.
"ARM is the fastest-growing CPU architecture in history," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. "This marks the beginning of the Internet Everywhere era, where every device provides instant access to the Internet, using advanced CPU cores and rich operating systems.
The mobile market is helping to drive energy efficient processors and this momentum is spilling over to the server market. Within two years we should see ARM servers that are using a fraction of current servers. Which is a big direction for greener data centers.
Why argue over a PUE change of 0.10 when you can drop your power use by 80%.