Calxeda touts 480-core ARM server

Start-up chip designer Calxeda is developing a low-powered ARM server that can consume as little as 5W per server node, according to an analyst.

The server will use a system-on-a-chip (SoC) design to create a 2U server with as many as 480 cores, Forrester analyst Richard Fichera said on his blog on Friday.

"While [Calxeda was] not forthcoming with details about the performance, topology or protocols, the SoC will contain an embedded fabric for the individual quad-core SoC servers to communicate with each other," Fichera wrote, after being briefed by the company.

Power-wise, each node will consist of an ARM Cortex A9 quad-core CPU, DRAM and fabric interconnect , and will consume around 5W, Fichera said.

Calxeda, previously known as Smooth-Stone, raised $48m (£29.7m) from a group of investors, including ARM, in August 2010, to develop what it called "high-performance, low-power chips that will change the server market and the makeup of datacentres".

At the time of writing Calxeda had not returned requests for clarification.