Adlink Technology’s new COM-HPC Ampere Altra is the world’s first 80-core COM-HPC server-type module that eases power/performance tradeoffs. It targets edge platforms that reliably and predictably process the most compute-intensive workloads, eliminating bottlenecks and restrictions typically caused by memory caches and system memory limits on edge devices.
At the core of the module is an Ampere Altra SoC (system-on-chip) using the Arm Neoverse N1 architecture, providing premium performance within a relatively modest thermal envelope, lower total cost of ownership than x86 designs and significantly lower power consumption. The module boasts 768 GB DDR4 RAM with six individual memory channels for demanding workloads, four 10GbE and one GbE interface.
The COM-HPC Ampere Altra delivers an impressive performance/power ratio of up to 80 Arm v8.2 64-bit cores running at up to 2,8 GHz with only 175 W. It provides three PCIe Gen4 x16 lanes with a homogenous architecture and valuable compute power for demanding workloads such as real-time/near-real-time applications including autonomous driving, stationary and mobile robotics, medical imaging and robotic surgery, test and measurement and video broadcasting. In addition, it is well suited as a native arm64 development and compilation system for lower-power embedded arm64 designs.
Ampere Altra is one of the first solutions with Arm SystemReady SR certification; Adlink is also working closely with Ampere and Arm to certify the COM-HPC Ampere Altra prototype system as a SystemReady SR device. COM-HPC Ampere Altra supports the open-source edk2 as bootloader with UEFI. Existing customers can just download a stock aarch64 (arm64) ISO such as Ubuntu and install it through booting a live ISO directly on the target – the same convenience developers have become accustomed to with x86/amd64 target systems.
Hardware reference platforms
The new module’s release came hot on the heels of Arm’s launch of the Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge (SOAFEE) to accelerate the software-defined future of automotive electronics. SOAFEE’s reference hardware platforms are Adlink’s 32-core-default COM-HPC Ampere Altra-powered ‘AVA Developer Platform’ which will be used by automakers to develop and test on Arm-based silicon and the 80-core-default COM-HPC Ampere Altra-powered ‘AVA-AP1’ for in-vehicle prototyping.
Automakers are moving their vehicles from hundreds of simultaneous discrete ECUs, collapsing their in-vehicle compute architecture into a smaller number of powerful ‘domain controllers’ with computer per major class of function (such as ADAS, infotainment) at first, to eventually one computer running all functions, with ‘mixed criticality’ on a single, powerful Arm SoC.
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