API NetWorks Unveils CS20, The World’s Most Powerful 1U Server
API NetWorks today introduced the CS20, a pizza-box-sized 1U rack server that packs two Alpha 21264 processors, large memory capacity and 64-bit PCI expansion into 1.75 inches of rack height, giving data centers and cluster builders more compute per rack than any other 1U server.
CONCORD, Mass. — November 6, 2000 — API NetWorks, Inc. today unveiled the CS20, a dual-processor Alpha server designed specifically for dense rack deployments. Where most 1U servers of 2000 were built around one or two 32-bit processors, the CS20 brings the 64-bit Alpha 21264 into the same compact form factor, so that a single standard 42U rack can hold dozens of dual-processor Alpha nodes. The system targets high performance computing clusters, Internet service providers, and any environment where floor space, power and cooling are as important as raw speed.
Density as a design goal
Data center space had become expensive by 2000. Colocation facilities charged by the rack, and research labs building clusters were running out of room. The answer the industry settled on was the 1U server: a full computer in a chassis one rack unit tall. The challenge was that the fastest processors ran hot and needed large heat sinks, large caches and substantial power, which is why early 1U designs tended to use modest CPUs.
The CS20 was engineered to overcome that. API NetWorks drew on its experience designing Alpha boards such as the UP2000 and enclosures such as the 320 chassis, laying out a board that places two processor modules, memory and I/O within the shallow height of a 1U case and moves air front to back across all of them. The result is Alpha-class performance in a box that stacks like any other rack server.
CS20 at a glance
| Feature | CS20 |
|---|---|
| Form factor | 1U rack-mount (1.75 in high), 19-inch rack |
| Processors | Two Alpha 21264, up to roughly 833 MHz |
| Backside cache | Several MB per processor |
| Memory | ECC SDRAM, up to several GB |
| Expansion | 64-bit PCI slots for networking or interconnect adapters |
| Networking | Integrated Ethernet |
| Storage | Internal hard drive bays |
| Operating systems | Linux for Alpha; Tru64 UNIX support planned |
| Management | Remote serial console and system monitoring |
Exact configurations vary with processor speed, memory and storage options; details are available through API support.
Who the CS20 is for
- Cluster builders who want the floating-point strength of Alpha in the densest practical form, with each node taking a single rack unit.
- Research institutions running simulation and modeling codes that benefit from 64-bit addressing and high memory bandwidth.
- Internet and hosting providers that need powerful, compact servers for web, database and application workloads.
- OEMs and integrators looking for a ready-made Alpha server platform to brand and sell with their own software and services.
Every rack unit in a data center costs money. The CS20 lets customers put two Alpha processors in each one, and that changes the economics of building a serious cluster.
An API NetWorks engineer
What it means for Alpha
The CS20 is a statement about where API NetWorks sees the Alpha going. Rather than competing only in the workstation and deskside server market, the company is positioning Alpha as the engine for scale-out infrastructure: large numbers of identical, manageable, high-performance nodes. That fits naturally with the cluster partnerships announced earlier in the year, including Linux NetworX and the Dolphin and Scali WulfKit bundle, both of which benefit from a compact node designed for racks.
Built to be managed in quantity
A single server can be looked after by hand; a rack of forty cannot. The CS20 is designed on the assumption that it will be deployed in large numbers, often in facilities where no administrator is physically present. Remote serial console access lets an operator watch a node boot, change firmware settings or recover from a failed kernel without walking to the rack. Hardware monitoring reports temperatures, fan status and power conditions so that problems can be caught before they take a node down. Front-to-back airflow allows systems to be stacked directly on top of each other in hot-aisle and cold-aisle layouts, and a consistent hardware configuration across every unit means one tested software image can be installed cluster-wide. For cluster integrators, that uniformity is as valuable as the processor speed: it shortens installation, simplifies spares and makes large systems predictable to operate.
Advantages over 32-bit 1U servers
- Native 64-bit addressing for very large datasets and memory-mapped files.
- Substantially higher floating-point throughput per processor.
- Large dedicated backside caches that reduce memory stalls.
- A 64-bit PCI path for high-speed interconnects without bus bottlenecks.
Availability
The CS20 is offered through API NetWorks' OEM, reseller and integrator channels. Configurations, pricing and delivery schedules depend on processor speed, memory and storage selections.
About API NetWorks, Inc.
API NetWorks, Inc., formerly Alpha Processor, Inc., is headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1998 as a joint effort of Samsung and Digital Equipment Corporation, later Compaq, to bring the 64-bit Alpha RISC architecture into mainstream markets. API designs and markets Alpha motherboards, processor modules, high-density rack servers and system-level building blocks for Linux and Tru64 UNIX, and supplies them to OEMs, system integrators and cluster builders worldwide. Through its API NetWorks unit the company is extending its high-performance design expertise into interconnect silicon and platforms for networking and communications equipment.