We have some new details on AMD's Zen based Naples server platform which will be available in 1H 2017. The new platform will be feature rich for the HPC market with parts that aim to maximize compute performance.

AMD Zen Based Naples Platform For High-Performance Computing Detailed - 128 PCI Express 3.0 Lanes

The latest details show that AMD will be offering an optimized GPU server platform with Naples CPU. The AMD Naples platform will feature a maximum of 128 PCI Express Gen 3.0 lanes. The huge number of lanes will allow support for a vast amount of devices. The detailed block diagram shows that a 1U rack will be able to support up to 32 NVMe devices and four discrete GPUs. The 1U rack will feature two InfiniBand EDR interconnectsfor data communication between storage and server systems.

The 1U rack is termed "Maximize Compute Density" so we may probably be looking at the denser Naples configuration. The one with 32 cores and 64 threads can be expected here. The 2U rack is termed "Maximize Performance/Node". This could mean that we are looking at a different or same configuration of Naples. But, the 2U rack allows for more GPU support. The 2U rack can support up to 8discrete graphics cards, 26 NVMe devices and a single IB EDR link.

AMD has listed down some advantages of both 1U and 2U racks. These include 4-6 directly attached discrete GPUs. RTG is actively working on delivering Vega based products around the same time as Naples so we can see some of them coupled to Naples processors. The interconnect provides P2P communication between the GPUs. There's also no PCIe 3.0 switch required which effectively reduces cost, latency while delivering full bandwidth between GPU and CPU.

AMD Naples Server Platform Uses 8 Channel Memory System

The Zen based Naples server platform will be featuring 8 channels for main system memory. This would allow for denser memory capacities on the racks. Such racks will be fully optimized within several workloads for HPC environments such as molecular dynamics, rendering, graphics and data analytics, DNN and O&G.

In another slide, AMD has listed several validated platforms which they are working with OEMs to bring to the market when Naples launches.These range from 1U (2 CPU / 4 GPU), 2U (2 CPU / 8 GPU), Sled: 2P (Multi CPU / 1 or 2 GPU) and Blade: 2P (Multi CPU / 1 to 3 GPU) systems. AMD will also be offering server cards in various form factors. The add-in-cards will be available in the standard PCI Express form factor while OEM-only will include MCM and MXM modules.

Upcoming Intel and AMD Server Platform Comparison: