Integrated Device Technology (IDT) has joined hands with IBM to introduce a computing solution for telecom edge networks.
The new computing solution combines its RapidIO technology with IBM’s POWER8-based servers. Telecom network operators can use the computing cluster at the edge of 4G and 5G networks for data-intensive applications including networked robotics control, network-assisted private and public transportation, and video analytics and caching.
The computing cluster features four dual-socket IBM POWER8-based servers connected with IDT’s RapidIO 10xN switch technology, which delivers 100 ns latency, 50 Gbps top-of-rack switching, along with IDT’s advanced timing devices.
The cluster is ideal for designs in 5G, C-RAN, mobile edge computing, high-performance computing, data analytics and financial trading applications, and can be scaled in a 42U rack to connect up to 76 POWER8 sockets with only 300 ns of switching latency.
“The 100 ns latency and energy efficiency of our 50 Gbps RapidIO silicon is ideal for connecting the IBM POWER8-based servers for edge applications,” said Sean Fan, IDT’s vice president and general manager of IDT’s Computing and Communications Division.
Calista Redmond, president of the OpenPOWER Foundation and director of OpenPOWER Global Alliances at IBM, said completing this edge computing cluster with a combination of POWER8 servers and IDT RapidIO switching is foundational for solving the emerging analytics and machine control use cases at the 5G network edge.
The company said RapidIO switch appliance ports used in the edge computing cluster can run at 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 50 Gbps using IDT’s 50 Gbps RXS2448 silicon, and can be tuned to optimize overall system power consumption, depending on application workload and edge node power budgets.
