Project Moonshot: HP's Secret ARM Servers Get Official

From DailyTech: Even as x86 chipmakers like Intel Corp. (INTC) dream of getting a piece of lucrative smartphone and tablet chip market dominated by ARM Holdings plc licensees, ARM is ready to take the fight to Intel. Already preparing to invade the laptop space, courtesy of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) incoming support with Windows 8, ARM has just taken a major step towards establishing a beachhead on Intel's most fertile and fast growing empire -- the server market.

After weeks of rumors, Hewlett-Packard Comp. (HPQ), statistically tied HP is a major server supplier to Facebook and Google Inc. (GOOG), the world's two top firms in terms of internet traffic.

Dubbed "Project Moonshot", the new ARM servers will extend HP's veteran ProLiant brand, which has traditionally relied on x86 chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). HP says the new ARM servers "for select workloads and applications" will reduce energy costs by 89 percent, reduce server room space by 94 percent, and reduce overall costs by 63 percent (versus equivalent x86-based servers). Those are some pretty incredible numbers, and it remains to be seen how well they hold up in the real world.

As speculated, HP's partner in this endeavor is a fresh-faced startup from Austin, Texas, Calxeda. ARM Holdings maintains a substantial stake in Calxeda and has been working with the startup to design the first server-optimized ARM core design, dubbed the "EnergyCore™ ARM® Cortex™". Little has been revealed about how much processing power these chips pack, but Calxeda's press release reveals that they will allow a razor-thin power budget of 1.5 watts, with a total platform budget of 5 watts.with International Business Machines, Inc. (IBM) as the world's largest server maker in terms of revenue, has announced that it will be deploying ARM-based servers.

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