Intels shows its Ponte Vecchio GPU and oneAPI programming model

Intel unveiled its new general-purpose "Ponte Vecchio" GPU architecture for HPC/AI acceleration, along with its new oneAPI, a unified and scalable programming model for the era of HPC/AI convergence.

The oneAPI industry initiative ains to deliver a unified and simplified programming model for application development across heterogenous processing architectures, including CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs and other accelerators. The oneAPI specification includes a direct programming language, powerful APIs and a low-level hardware interface. Intel’s oneAPI beta software provides developer tools that include compilers, libraries and analyzers, packaged into domain-focused toolkits. The initial oneAPI beta release targets Intel Xeon Scalable processors, Intel Core processors with integrated graphics, and Intel FPGAs, with additional hardware support to follow in future releases. Developers can download the oneAPI tools, test drive them in the Intel oneAPI DevCloud, and learn more about oneAPI at software.intel.com/oneAPI.

The new general-purpose GPUs are based on Intel’s Xe architecture. Ponte Vecchio will be manufactured on Intel’s 7nm technology and will be Intel’s first Xe-based GPU optimized for HPC and AI workloads. Ponte Vecchio will leverage Intel’s Foveros 3D and EMIB packaging innovations and feature multiple technologies in-package, including high-bandwidth memory, Compute Express Link interconnect and other intellectual property.

Intel said these announcements, which are being made at this week's Supercomputing 2019 in Denver, represent a paradigm shift from today’s single-architecture, single-vendor programming models.




“HPC and AI workloads demand diverse architectures, ranging from CPUs, general-purpose GPUs
and FPGAs, to more specialized deep-learning NNPs, which Intel demonstrated earlier this month,” said Raja Koduri, senior vice president, chief architect, and general manager of architecture, graphics and software at Intel. “Simplifying our customers’ ability to harness the power of diverse computing environments is paramount, and Intel is committed to taking a software-first approach that delivers a unified and scalable abstraction for heterogeneous architectures.”

https://newsroom.intel.com/news-releases/intel-unveils-new-gpu-architecture-optimized-for-hpc-ai-oneapi/#gs.gqf475

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Google completes California-to-Chile subsea cable

Google's 10,500-km "Curie" subsea cable stretching from California to Chile is now ready for service. The new cable is equipped four 18 Tbps fiber optic pairs, a design capacity of 72 Tbps.

Google also announced the first Curie branch into Panama. Subcom has been selected for the project.

Curie represents Google's third wholly-owned subsea cable. The other projects are Dunant, which crosses the Atlantic from Virginia to France, and Equiano, which will link Portugal to South Africa.

https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/infrastructure/curie-subsea-cable-set-to-transmit-to-chile-with-a-pit-stop-to-panama

Google picks Equinix for Curie Subsea Cable Landing Station

Thursday, February 07, 2019  Chile, Equinix, Google, Submarine Cable, Subsea, Undersea  

Google has selected an Equinix data center in El Segundo, California as the cable landing station (CLS) for the new Curie subsea cable system.  In the U.S., the cable will land directly at the Equinix LA4 International Business Exchange (IBX) data center.

The Curie cable is expected to go live in 2019.

Equinix said the CLS configuration is ideal for extending the backhaul capacity of a subsea cable system directly to the ecosystems of companies in its high-density IBX data centers. The architecture provides easy access to a dense, rich ecosystem of networks, clouds and IT service providers.

Equinix has been selected as an interconnection partner in more than 25 of the current subsea cable projects.

"With the significant increase in global data traffic, we see corporations running global businesses demanding access to high-capacity, low-latency networks capable of connecting them to data centers across oceans with stringent levels of reliability. Any user of a subsea cable system that lands inside one of our Equinix global data center termination points has instant, low-latency access to a host of vibrant industry ecosystems inside Equinix, and that's a huge advantage," stated Jim Poole, Vice President, Business Development, Equinix.

Google commissions own subsea cable from CA to Chile

Tuesday, January 16, 2018  Chile, Google, Submarine Cable, Subsea, TE Subcom, Undersea  

TE Subcom has been awarded a contract by Alphabet, the parent company of Google, to build a subsea cable from California to Chile. A ready-for-service date is expected in 2019.

The Curie Submarine Cable will be a four fiber-pair subsea system spanning over 10,000 km from Los Angeles to Valparaiso. It will include a branching unit for future connectivity to Panama.

The project is believed to be the first subsea cable to land in Chile in 20 years.

“We’re proud to provide comprehensive services to Google on this project. Leveraging existing TE SubCom infrastructure through our SubCom Global Services (SGS) options put us in position to be a true partner to them. Our role in the continued growth of global connectivity and information sharing is a point of substantial pride for the TE SubCom team,” said Sanjay Chowbey, president of TE SubCom.

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EC approves €2.6B public support for Irish National Broadband

The European Commission approved  €2.6 billion of public support for the Irish National Broadband Plan, which aims to bring high-speed broadband services to consumers and businesses in areas with insufficient connectivity in Ireland. The new network will be capable of supporting download speeds of at least 150 Mbps and upload speeds of at least 30 Mbps.

The Irish National Broadband Plan calls for a subsidised network providing wholesale access to all operators on an open, transparent and non-discriminatory basis.

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy said: “The National Broadband Plan in Ireland is expected to address the significant digital divide between urban and rural areas in Ireland, enabling Irish consumers and businesses to benefit from the full potential of digital growth. This will help households and businesses in areas of Ireland where private investment is insufficient.”

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Telia Carrier picks Ciena OLS for European network

Telia Carrier has chosen Ciena to be the supplier of a new Open Optical Line System (O-OLS) in Europe. The selected system will be deployed from the beginning of 2020 and will provide increased capacity across the European FLAP (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris) markets, as well as linking-up additional key locations in the Telia Carrier network, to create a European Express Network. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ciena said Telia Carrier will also deploy its Waveserver transponders, powered by Wavelogic Ai and WaveLogic 5 Extreme coherent optics, which can be deployed not only in the new O-OLS in Europe, but also in other existing Line Systems in the Telia Carrier network, in both Europe and the United States.

“Europe is an important market for long-haul fiber connectivity so being able to deploy and maintain a scalable and adaptive network is key,” said Jamie Jefferies, Vice President and General Manager, EMEA at Ciena. “Working with industry leaders like Telia Carrier supports our relentless pursuit of network innovation, enabling network providers to deliver richer, more connected experiences for their customers.”

“The new O-OLS from Ciena provides great flexibility and scalability, enabling us to strengthen our European network within our core transport infrastructure as the demand for high-performance capacity services in this region continues to grow”, said Staffan Göjeryd, CEO, Telia Carrier.

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Mirantis acquires Docker Enterprise

Mirantis has acquired Docker’s Enterprise Platform business, including its container platform, employees and hundreds of enterprise customers. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Docker containers are used by one-third of Fortune 100 companies.

Mirantis said its significant investments in Kubernetes will now flow into the Docker Enterprise platform. New capabilities are expected to include an as-a-service experience to eliminate the administration, integration and operation burden of containers.

“The Mirantis Kubernetes technology joined with the Docker Enterprise Container Platform brings simplicity and choice to enterprises moving to the cloud. Delivered as a service, it’s the easiest and fastest path to the cloud for new and existing applications,” said Adrian Ionel, CEO and co-founder at Mirantis. “The Docker Enterprise employees are among the most talented cloud native experts in the world and can be immensely proud of what they achieved. We’re very grateful for the opportunity to create an exciting future together and welcome the Docker Enterprise team, customers, partners, and community.”

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Docker to focus on developer workflows, secures $35 million in funding

Docker announced a recapitalization of its equity along with $35 million in new financing from previous investors Benchmark Capital and Insight Partners.

The company said it will focus on developers’ workflows when building, sharing and running modern applications.

“I joined Docker to lead the next phase of its growth. After conducting thorough analysis with the management team and the Board of Directors, we determined that Docker had two very distinct and different businesses: one an active developer business, and the other a growing enterprise business. We also found that the product and the financial models were vastly different. This led to the decision to restructure the company and separate the two businesses, which is the best thing for customers and to enable Docker’s industry-leading technology to thrive,” said Rob Bearden, chief executive officer of Docker.

“Addressing the needs of developers has been core to Docker since its inception. Developers want the freedom to choose their own tools, the flexibility to quickly try new technologies and the ability to deploy their applications anywhere, independent of the underlying infrastructure,” said Scott Johnston, chief product officer, Docker. “Going forward, in partnership with the community and ecosystem, we will expand Docker Desktop and Docker Hub’s roles in the developer workflow for modern apps. Specifically, we are investing in expanding our cloud services to enable developers to quickly discover technologies for use when building applications, to easily share these apps with teammates and the community, and to run apps frictionlessly on any Kubernetes endpoint, whether locally or in the cloud. It’s an honor to lead Docker in this next phase of its journey.”

https://www.docker.com/blog/docker-next-chapter-advancing-developer-workflows-for-modern-apps

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Keysight, FormFactor and CompoundTek partner on silicon photonics R&D

Keysight Technologies has entered into an R&D partnership with FormFactor, a provider of essential test and measurement technologies along the full IC life cycle and CompoundTek, a global foundry services leader in emerging silicon photonic solutions (SiPh).

The companies have jointly developed an advanced photonics on-wafer testing solution that delivers industry-first capabilities including automated alignment, simultaneous optical-optical and optical-electrical device tests.

The joint solution, to be offered by CompoundTek, includes:

• The FormFactor CM300xi-SiPh, with automated wafer level photonics positioning combined with Keysight’s industry standard IL/PDL engines and N7700A Photonics Application Suite (PAS), to support wavelength repeatability of ±1.5 pm at two-way sweeps up to 200 nm/s within 1240nm to 1650nm to ensure accuracy and repeatability from O-band to L-band.
• Keysight’s N4373E 67 GHz Lightwave Component Analyzer which delivers unprecedented bandwidth for both optical receiver testing and optical transmitter testing with guaranteed specifications for electro-optical S-parameter measurements for device traceability.
• Keysight’s PathWave software platform which provides a consistent user experience, common data formats and control interfaces.
• FormFactor’s SiPh software that enables automated calibrations and alignments and simplifies integration with Keysight’s PathWave software platform, as well as optical instrumentation, to ensure ease of use.

“Innovation in optics is critical to connect the world and help the industry to monetize 5G, as well as data center and telecom services,” said Dr. Joachim Peerlings, vice president of Network and Data Center Solutions at Keysight Technologies. “Advancing in speed as well as power and cost efficiency requires a tightly connected eco-system to jointly solve the challenges ahead. We are pleased with our partnerships and progress of enabling this eco-system through our unmatched photonics test expertise.”

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