Supermicro short-frame server targets telco deployments of 5G

New short-depth server SuperServer 2U provides computational power in peripheral micro-data centers. The firm said it aims to help telecom companies adopt open systems to support border computing.

Supermicro is modeling a short frame server towards 5G networks to help telcos push virtualization to run on open systems.

The 2U device is part of the Supermicro Ultra SuperServer product range. At 22.7 inches, the short-rack cloud server for small-scale data centers and supports the telecom industry's transition to the open radio access network technology.

Telecom operators need servers with enough bandwidth and security when they make the move, but most common servers aren't optimized for 5G applications, said Allen Leibovitch, marketing manager. Supermicro's premium product said.

“The big change happening in 5G is that the network is moving to open hardware platforms and using virtualization a lot. We thought it was great, because those are the things we really do best, ”Leibovitch said.

The shorter Supermicro SuperServer server can be configured with Supermicro's exclusive risers to expand the network connection. SuperServer supports two second-generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors and Intel PAC N3000 acceleration card to build scalable systems. Storage includes six NVMe SSDs, 6TB DDR4 memory and eight PCIe 3.0 connection points.

The system has been certified for the Network Equipment-Building System (NEBS) to assist organizations seeking to modernize their edge infrastructure, Leibovitch said. NEBS has been around since the 1970s and evolved into standards for building telecommunications equipment.

Increasing interest in workloads for AI inference outside core data center network locations plays a wider role in hybrid cloud computing. Major server vendors are racing against Supermicro for a place in the nascent market.

The Supermicro SuperServer series competes with products from Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), among others. Dell provides carrier-level versions with its leading PowerEdge servers directly and through OEM partners. HPE's Edgeline converged edge system, launched last year with Samsung, targets telecom and network operators, and HPE in April added open source tools to help reduce the complexity of 5G deployment.

John Abbott, an analyst at 451 Research - a member of S&P Global Market Intelligence, said that telecommunications-related IT systems have historically missed the cost and technology advances of machine systems. The owner is open, but that is starting to change.

An example of the change is software-defined 5G as a way to swap proprietary data center computing points to less expensive computing points and switching hardware, Abbott said.

“Telco is currently having to quickly upgrade its core systems to support new technologies and new ways of working. Virtualization has expanded to the network. Software-based and cloud-based services with a high degree of automation are required to respond to customer needs faster and to keep potential competition from hyper-scale cloud providers. And applications are being released with new levels of analytics and intelligence, ”Abbott said.

Supermicro said the commercial shipments of SuperServer 5G will soon begin, but they do not give a specific time frame. The vendor said it had optimized its full server line before 5G deployment, including the BigTwin flagship, rack server, SuperServer standard-depth server, blade, GPU and outdoor servers. Closed frame (Outdoor Edge pole).