Gaia compute node could help keep servers cool

Leti joined forces with STMicroelectronics to develop the Gaia compute node, which could help reduce the energy consumption of powerful calculation servers without affecting their performance. The circuit leverages technologies like FDSOI substrates and ARM 64-bit architecture originally developed for embedded systems. The node’s energy efficiency has been evaluated at 7.5 gigaflops per watt—that’s four times higher than Intel’s best-performing compute node.

The main design challenge resides in the circuit’s architecture, which is divided into four chips, each with eight compute cores, making flow of data between these elements tricky. Once Gaia has been validated on an emulator, it will be fabricated and packaged later this year. It will also be used as a technology demonstrator for Euroserver, an EU FP7 project.

Contact: jerome.martin@cea.fr

Facebook

Twitter