Video: Data Center network evolution with AMD Pensando DPUs

https://youtu.be/Job_3rlSby0

It's been a busy year since AMD acquired Pensando for its DPUs.

Soni Jiandani provides an update including deployments with Oracle Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and IBM. There's also a lot happening with DPUs in the enterprise including use cases fir DPUs in servers and in a new generation of SmartSwitches.  AMD is betting that applications can be supercharged when run on servers powered by its 4th gen EPYC CPUs and its Pensando DPUs. There is a lot more to talk about too, including VMware integration, a new software development kit, P4, and a next generation chip that is just around the corner.

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AWS hit by major outage at US-EAST-1 Region

Amazon Web Services experienced  increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS Services in the US-EAST-1 Region. The outage began on Tuesday at 11:49 AM PDT and lasted till 3:37 PM.

AWS said the root cause appeared to be an issue with a subsystem responsible for capacity management for AWS Lambda, which caused errors directly for customers (including through API Gateway) and indirectly through the use of other AWS services. 

The issue appeared to impact dozens of AWS services at US-EAST-1 Region.

Some web site administrators also experienced authentication or sign-in errors when using the AWS Management Console.

https://health.aws.amazon.com/health/status

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USDA opens $714 million in grants and loans for rural broadband

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $714 million in grants and loans to connect thousands of rural residents, farmers and business owners in 19 states.

The funding was approved under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $65 billion to connect everyone to high-speed internet through the Internet for All initiative. 

For USDA, this batch of approvals represents thes fourth funding round of the ReConnect Program. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department has invested in 142 ReConnect projects that will bring high-speed internet access to 314,000 rural Americans.

Some sample projects receiving funding:

• The Home Telephone Company is receiving a ReConnect Program grant to connect nearly 4,000 people, 49 businesses, 46 farms and two educational facilities to high-speed internet in Berkeley County, South Carolina.
• The Decatur Telephone Company will connect 5,400 people, 257 farms, 74 businesses and four educational facilities to high-speed internet in Benton County, Arkansas.
• The North-State Telephone Co. will deploy a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network connecting 1,490 people, 64 businesses and 43 farms in Wasco County, Oregon, to high-speed internet.
• The Cal-Ore Telephone Company will connect 757 people, 45 businesses, 14 farms and four educational facilities to high-speed internet in Modoc and Siskiyou counties in California.
• Both companies will make monthly internet service affordable by participating in the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program.
• Missouri’s Goodman Telephone Company Inc. will connect nearly 7,000 people, 206 farms, 140 businesses and two educational facilities to high-speed internet in McDonald and Newton counties.
• The Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative Inc. in Kansas will connect 4,189 people, 821 farms, 149 businesses and three educational facilities to high-speed internet in Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette and Neosho counties.

The full list of recipients is in the link below.

https://www.rd.usda.gov/media/file/download/usda-rd-reconnect-r4-tranche-2-06122023.pdf

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European Commission offers €8.1 billion for semiconductor and communications

The European Commission will provide up to €8.1 billion to advance research in the field of Microelectronics, including communication technologies (IPCEI ME/CT).  The initiative involves 68 projects from 56 companies, that form part of the wider IPCEI ME/CT ecosystem involving over 30 associated participants.

The overall objective is to enable the digital and green transformation by: (i) creating innovative microelectronics and communication solutions, and (ii) developing energy-efficient and resource-saving electronics systems and manufacturing methods. 

The projects aim to contribute to the technological advancement of many sectors, including communications (5G and 6G), autonomous driving, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. 

The public funding is expected to unlock additional €13.7 billion in private investments.

https://competition-policy.ec.europa.eu/state-aid/legislation/modernisation/ipcei_en

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OFS show fiber cabling for aircraft

OFS announced a fiber cable optimized for inflight entertainment, internet access, networking and display systems used in commercial aircraft.

OFS FlightLinx PLUS Fiber Optic Cable is a 1.8 mm ruggedized single jacket cable designed to meet or exceed ARINC 802 performance requirements without the need for a double jacket. 

The company says the cable's construction consists of a tight buffered fiber within a loose structure cable which allows for reliable pull-proof termination and helps prevent kinking, epoxy wicking and fiber breakage during and after deployment. The buffer tube provides additional crush and impact protection for harsh installations in aircraft. 

OFS is showcasing the cable at the Paris Airshow.

https://www.ofsoptics.com/flightlinx-plus-fiber-optic-cable/

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Strong forecast for PCIe interconnect

 The total addressable market for PCI Express (PCIe) technology is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14% from 2022 to 2027 in high growth verticals including data centers, edge, telcos, AI, automotive, mobile devices and wearables, according to a new report from ABI Research and PCI-SIG. The report analyzed all generations of PCIe technology currently in the marketplace and the impact of the upcoming PCIe 7.0 specification, which is targeted for release in 2025. PCI-SIG recently published the PCIe 7.0 specification, version 0.3 to its members, achieving the first milestone of specification development.

Key highlights from the report:

• Automotive and network edge verticals projecting the highest growth opportunities for PCIe technology, with total addressable market (TAM) and compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 53% and 38%, respectively, over the forecast period.
• The automotive industry can extract significant value from widespread PCIe technology adoption, as it enables the consolidation of Electrical/Electronic (E/E) domains, as well as helping systems overcome safety and efficiency challenges within mission-critical applications for autonomous vehicles.
• High-performance applications such as data centers will contribute to sustained long -term demand for new PCIe technology deployment. In addition to performance, other critical drivers of PCIe technology adoption are power efficiency, security and “time-to-value”.
• The low power feature (L0p) of PCIe 6.0 specification will be a major driver of deployment, as power efficiency becomes a central strategy for adopters with a closer focus on sustainability and lowering operational costs.
• AI industry adoption will be high, as PCIe technology offers decision makers agility through forwards and backwards compatibility, improving time-to-value and lowering deployment risk.
• Complex Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN or ORAN) workloads will lead to sustained demand for PCIe technology, as heterogeneous hardware becomes ubiquitous.
• PCIe technology will perform well in the mobile devices vertical, as the quick pace of market innovation will necessitate a discrete component interconnect.

“PCI Express technology leads the industry as a foundational I/O interconnect and can be found in everything from automobiles to data center servers,” said PCI-SIG President Al Yanes. “This report is proof positive that the future of PCIe technology is bright. As PCIe architecture speed increases, we will continue to expand our traditional verticals while expanding into exciting new verticals to meet the demand for a high-bandwidth, low-latency interconnect.”

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Ericsson’s Cloud RAN runs on 4th Gen Intel Xeon

Ericsson demonstrated its Cloud RAN solution running on the new 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors with Intel vRAN Boost. This milestone marks a significant step towards a fully commercialized Cloud RAN solution based on HPE ProLiant DL110 servers.

Carried out at Ericsson’s Open Lab in Ottawa, the first end-to-end Cloud RAN call on 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors with Intel vRAN Boost on the HPE ProLiant DL110 server, marks a significant step forward in helping service providers meet the diverse needs for more open, resilient, sustainable, and intelligent mobile networks.

David Hammarwall, Head of Product Area Networks, at Ericsson, says: “This achievement shows our commitment to driving Open RAN forward, with our high-performing Cloud RAN solution and extensive support of the larger ecosystem. Working with partners like Intel and HPE, we are actively promoting open standards and delivering intelligent and sustainable solutions for future networks.”

Dan Rodriguez, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Network and Edge Solutions Group, at Intel, says: “Achieving this significant milestone with Ericsson and HPE is possible only through open industry collaboration. Strong ecosystem engagements like this are absolutely critical to drive global innovation and commercial deployments at scale. Virtualization of the RAN is the next major transformation as we work to advance mobile networks into the future.”

https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2023/6/ericsson-first-cloud-ran-call-with-intel-latest-generation-processor-on-hpe-server

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