Data,however, is growing at a pace much faster than most organizations can manage with traditional architectures; this prompts a shift to cloud-native architectures that promises to scale and evolve faster, be delivered at better economics, while at the same time executing on environmental foot-print goals. This challenge often leads organizations to jump-start their innovation by partnering with service providers, who already have these architectures available in as-a-service formats. This, however, only shifts the problem to the service providers, who now face ever increasing challenges delivering these cloud-native environments in an economically and environmentally sound way.
At its core, the challenge is that the emerging scale-out applications, which service providers are rapidly ingesting, require massive amounts of compute power. Yet the worldwide climate crisis and the escalating cost of energy dictates the need for a massively more efficient infrastructure solution than what is traditionally being employed today – and it must be delivered at massive scale while remaining cost competitive.
As a technologist, I get excited about problems like this, because it allows me and all my fellow HPE colleagues to bring to bear the awesome innovation powerhouse that is HPE. So, with the objective clear, we defined our mission: to create a truly efficient compute solution for the service provider. The first result of that mission is the HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen11.
Maximum efficiency for cloud-native workloads
The HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen11 is a novel, no-nonsense, compute infrastructure building block, that at its core is engineered to delivery maximum efficiency for cloud native workloads. It affords any service provider the opportunity to rapidly expand, and by extension, give direct line of sight to increased revenue and profits. In short, this new server delivers the “holy grail” for cloud-native workloads: the ability to (linearly) scale out compute performance while staying within existing footprints.
So how did we get there?
How we deliver next-generation compute efficiency
First, we considered and designed-in efficiencies with long-term sustainability in mind. From day 1, the HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen11 Server was architected to support more cores while using less wattage. The server is built on power-efficient Ampere ® ARM-based processors that support up to 128 cores per socket in a 1U form factor. In fact, Ampere ARM-based processors offer raw performance to rival that of traditional CPUs – while consuming far less energy.
This gives service providers the ability to achieve unprecedented performance per watt, and thereby enables them to expand and compete more effectively, while maximizing revenue and profit potential. An added advantage of power-efficient ARM processors is that they help service providers meet both their own, and also their customers, sustainability goals through lower energy consumption—energy consumption that is often at a fraction of the power consumed by conventional chipsets.
Second, we designed the server with CPU, storage, and fabric that sustain predictable high performance, low latency, and maximum utilization for massively scaled-out cloud environments. In fact, our testing has shown the HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen11 Server can achieve 100% utilization while maintaining optimal performance and power efficiency at full cloud scale. This enables service providers to deliver predictable end-user experiences for their customers even as data volumes and workloads intensify.
We also equipped the server with flexible management options. For example, service providers that want a consistent experience across the HPE ProLiant portfolio can continue to rely on HPE iLO management, which is a foundational component of the HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen11 Server. Or, for service providers looking to pursue or expand their open-source strategy, HPE offers a path for enabling OpenBMC[1] on the ProLiant server. This option is ideal for service providers that want to adopt, build, grow, and maintain their own BMC software stack.
Count on the legendary reliability, security and flexibility of HPE ProLiant
Of course, reliability and security remain critical considerations, especially in scaled-out cloud-native environments. Service providers will be happy to know that the HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen11 Server retains the legendary security, reliability, and functionality of HPE ProLiant, including the HPE Silicon Root of Trust technology, along with enhanced security hardening, and strong internal firmware encryption. Even service providers that transfer BMC ownership to their own OpenBMC firmware stack will enjoy this, as the embedded HPE ProLiant silicon ensures the integrity of the core system and OpenBMC firmware running on the HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen11 Server.
Another important point to consider is that the HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen11 Server is an ARM-based solution available to service providers from a tier-one OEM—Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Consequently, service providers have more flexibility to perform their own optimizations and customizations than they may get through other channels. Equally important, this also means access to a world-class services experience and reach; with HPE techs on the ground around the world, standardized deployments from the core to the edge become a no-brainer.
It’s time to take cloud-native workloads to new heights
At HPE, we recognize the challenges service providers face in supporting a rapidly growing number of cloud-native applications – the relentless demand for more compute, intensifying competitive pressures, and growing requirements for accountability in climate impact. Such challenges could seem insurmountable with a cloud infrastructure built on traditional x86 servers where each core is typically optimized for raw performance without regard for energy efficiency.
With the introduction of the HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen11 Server, we enable service providers to break with tradition and take their cloud-native workload delivery to new heights of efficiency. This innovative server delivers maximum compute density, the greatest possible energy efficiency, and features superior overall TCO.
Our mission is to allow you to compete more effectively, sustainably, and profitably. And we chose to accept that mission.