Meeting the Demands of the Modern Datacenter with AMD

Increasing demand for AI capabilities in your business means IT decision makers must adapt quickly or be left behind. How do you meet the AI demand though with constrained budgets, not to mention limited space and power in your data centers? The simple answer: consolidation. AMD has you covered with compute density, automation, and efficiency to free up the headroom required to pursue the AI demands on your business. AMD will walk you through the end-to-end ways AMD is ready to help your business succeed in the new era of pervasive AI.

Robert Hormuth, Corporate Vice President for Architecture and Strategy, presented at Tech Field Day Extra at VMware Explore US 2023 and discussed how AMD is addressing the demands of modern data centers. Hormuth highlighted AMD’s extensive portfolio, including the Epic CPU, Pensando DPU, and various data center GPU products, which are all designed to provide high-performance, energy-efficient compute solutions. With AI rapidly transforming businesses, AMD targets high compute density and optimized architectures to mitigate the limitations posed by budget, space, and power constraints in data centers. Hormuth underscored the significance of transitioning to heterogeneous computing to enhance energy efficiency and computational power.

Hormuth delved into the evolving landscape of AI, predicting a shift from ‘big brother’ AI, which influences human behavior, to ‘big mother’ AI, characterized by human assistance and nurturing capabilities. This evolution necessitates robust, heterogeneous compute systems. AMD offers a diverse array of products—from general-purpose CPUs to adaptive system-on-chips, accelerators, and custom solutions—that can cater to specific workloads and drive next-generation use cases. Hormuth emphasized the importance of enhancing user experiences and optimized business outcomes through these cutting-edge technologies while recognizing sustainability and energy efficiency as pivotal factors.

Addressing the intense demand for AI, Hormuth discussed the challenges data centers face, such as limited space and power. He highlighted how AMD’s Epic processors facilitate significant consolidation of older servers, resulting in enhanced performance per watt and space savings. Hormuth also mentioned that AMD’s new CPUs are designed to avoid the necessity of liquid cooling, allowing for efficient air cooling even at higher compute densities. To ensure smooth transitions to AMD’s advanced compute solutions, AMD collaborates with VMware to offer tools like the VMware Architecture Migration Tool (VAMP), which simplifies migration and optimizes workload performance in data centers.