AMD Opteron Sets Out To Surf Virtualization Wave

Advanced Micro Devices is using the growing virtualization trend to help build mind share for its Opteron processor line among solution providers.

Barry Crume, director of the server/workstation business segment for AMD's microprocessor business unit, said 64-bit processors in 2005 and 2006 would incorporate advanced support for virtualization and enhance security.

At CRN publisher CMP Media's XChange Tech Innovators, Crume said that servers running multiple virtualization sessions will be important for solution providers taking advantage of the server consolidation movement in the enterprise.

AMD's planned hardware security, code-named Presidio, can keep hackers from finding loopholes in new virtualization techniques, Crume said. New technology, code-named Pacifica, would isolate specific memory blocks for each virtualization session to ensure that multiple instances of next-generation operating systems can run concurrently without performance degradation.

The technologies are key for AMD processors. Though the company has cultivated a larger share of the enterprise market with Opteron, a CPU that supports 32-bit and 64-bit instruction, overall market penetration is just a fraction of that maintained by market leader Intel.Intel is also working on similar technologies for its own processors. Intel's virtualization project is code-named Silverdale, while the security features are code-named LaGrande.

Troy Lapsys, vice president of business development and affinity partnerships at systems builder NextDay Network, Monterey, Calif., said virtualization could be a significant opportunity for solution providers.

"As more things start coming out for Linux, particularly specialized software, we will start to see more demand for virtualization," Lapsys said. NextDay, which assists resellers with sourcing issues, is seeing movement toward high-end specialization applications written for Linux, he said.

Crume, however, envisions more virtualization potential tied to traditional server consolidation. Many businesses currently run separate servers for e-mail, Internet servers and CRM, Crume said. While use on these servers is heavy at times, they often have excess computing capability.

"[Network] users think they aren't getting enough computing power, but the servers are underutilized much of the day," he said.0