A cloud-native processor (CNP) is a general purpose
central processing unit (CPU) specifically designed to support the growing number of
cloud-native computing applications which do not require any on-site computing infrastructure, or software designed specifically to create, build and store information over the
cloud.
According to the
Cloud Native Computing Foundation, cloud native technologies enable organizations to build and run scalable applications in
public,
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
, and
hybrid clouds.
Technology
Cloud-native processor allow for scalability, cost-effectiveness and better energy efficiencies than legacy processors.
Cloud-native versus other processors
The
x86 family of instruction set architectures is the most widely used processor family in
personal computers,
workstations, and
servers . The architecture was introduced by
Intel in 1978 and later extended by
AMD in 2003; the two companies remain the industry's top two vendors of x86 processors .
These processors are found in
16-,
32-, and
64-bit versions and use
simultaneous multithreading
Simultaneous multithreading (SMT) is a technique for improving the overall efficiency of superscalar CPUs with hardware multithreading. SMT permits multiple independent threads of execution to better use the resources provided by modern process ...
where each core has two threads.
These processors work well in enterprise environments where they are utilized by a single entity. In a cloud environment, where utilized by multiple users with different applications sharing the same core, they are not able to adjust to changing workloads, compromising performance.
In comparison, cloud-native processors offer 80 and 128 cores and are single threaded, which allows for simultaneous connections in a cloud environment resulting in scalability.
The processors are also smaller with more efficient power usage and can run both enterprise and cloud native applications, making them more cost effective than other alternatives.
Cloud-native processors are a useful option for
data center
A data center (American English) or data centre (British English)See spelling differences. is a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunic ...
s, which are predicted to use 11 percent of the world's electricity by 2030.
Products
Ampere Computing, founded in 2018, released a cloud-native processor in 2020.
That processor, the Ampere Altra, and its successor, the Ampere Altra Max, are used by
Oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The word '' ...
,
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure, often referred to as Azure ( , ), is a cloud computing platform operated by Microsoft for application management via around the world-distributed data centers. Microsoft Azure has multiple capabilities such as software as a ...
,
Tencent, Alibaba, and
ByteDance.
In 2021,
Alibaba
Ali Baba (character), Ali Baba is a character from the folk tale ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves''.
Ali Baba or Alibaba may also refer to:
Films
* Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1902 film), ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' (1902 film), a F ...
released its Yitian 710 processor as a cloud-native processor.
In 2022, Ampere announced a new custom-designed core and AMD and Intel announced they were working on their own cloud native designs.
also announced a cloud native server based on Ampere's cloud-native processors.
References
{{Reflist
Computer-related introductions in the 21st century
Cloud infrastructure
Instruction set architectures