PR95486

AUSTIN, Texas, April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

--Hardware-aware software drives maximum hardware performance, speeds

time-to-market and an improved ecological footprint.

Today, the OCP Foundation, the nonprofit organization bringing hyperscale

innovations to all, announced a new hardware-software co-design strategy (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3505917-1&h=209548490&u=https%3A%2F%2F146a55aca6f00848c565-a7635525d40ac1c70300198708936b4e.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com%2Fimages%2Fe1616cbcf1f761b6e6f351cff7296613227bb599.pdf&a=hardware-software+co-design+strategy

) that is exemplified by recent contributions to the OCP by Microsoft and Intel

of the Scalable I/O (Input/Output) Virtualization (SIOV) specification, and a

new collaboration with the SONiC Project now at the Linux Foundation.

Photo -

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1797406/OCP_hardware_sofware_co_design_infographic_v1_2a.jpg

"Hardware--software co-design focuses on software that requires intimate

knowledge of the hardware to drive maximum hardware performance, and speed

time-to-market for hardware where system performance and ecological footprint

can be highly dependent on software and hardware interactions. As part of the

OCP's new hardware--software co-design strategy we are pleased to have new

contributions from Microsoft and Intel and continue our collaboration with the

SONiC Project at the Linux Foundation," said George Tchaparian, CEO Open

Compute Project Foundation.

Hardware-software co-design takes on new importance as software workloads

become more diverse requiring specialized silicon to deliver top performance at

an acceptable energy and ecological cost. System software, or firmware, will

need to be designed using knowledge of the underlying hardware architecture to

make appropriate engineering trade-offs along the cost vs performance curve

enabling greener software.

The recent contribution of Microsoft and Intel of the Scalable I/O

Virtualization (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3505917-1&h=3080198232&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.opencompute.org%2Fdocuments%2Focp-scalable-io-virtualization-technical-specification-revision-1-v1-2-pdf&a=Scalable+I%2FO+Virtualization

) specification is an important example of OCP's hardware-software co-design

strategy where SIOV provides a hardware and software architecture for

mass-scale virtualization of I/O. This specification is an evolution of SR-IOV

(single root input output virtualization) removing scaling limitations,

enabling 100's and 1,000's of VMs (virtual machines) or software containers to

dynamically share a pool of I/O devices meeting the requirements of today's

modern cloud native software. The OCP intends to grow a healthy community

around SIOV becoming a catalyst to spark innovation in silicon and cloud

architectures.

Collaboration between the OCP and the Linux Foundation expands to include the

SONiC Project. In alignment with hardware-software co-design, collaboration

continues around the Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI) (

https://www.opencompute.org/documents/switch-abstraction-interface-ocp-specification-v0-2-pdf

) project remaining at OCP and SONiC now at the Linux Foundation. The OCP is

pleased that this collaboration allows the OCP to benefit from larger

acceptance of SONiC by the Linux Foundation software development community,

creating pull for OCP recognized switch hardware, opening new market verticals

for OCP recognized equipment.  While SONiC is the OS of choice for many

hyperscale data center operators, other market segments need specialized

features and SAI will enable the market to choose the switch OS best suited to

its use cases.

"The market for Data Center Infrastructure continues to evolve with increased

silicon diversity prompted by adoption of AI and ML workloads. This diversity

is reshaping the market which is under pressure to deliver the high-performance

computational infrastructure that also manages its power and ecological

footprint. These combinations of requirements make hardware-software co-design

an imperative." said Ashish Nadkarni, Group Vice President, Infrastructure

Systems, Worldwide Infrastructure at IDC.

Support from Key Stakeholders

Intel (SIOV)

"Intel is committed to open standards as the fuel that that powers inclusive,

innovative ecosystems," said Ronak Singhal, Senior Fellow and Chief Architect

for Intel Xeon Roadmap & Technology at Intel.  "By partnering with Open Compute

Project to host the new Scalable I/O Virtualization (SIOV) specification, the

whole CPU and PCIe device ecosystem can accelerate adoption of more scalable,

efficient and high-performance I/O virtualization for the hyperscale era."

Microsoft (SONiC)

"The open source SONiC Network Operating System is enabling rapid innovation

across the network ecosystem, and it began with the definition of the Switch

Abstraction Interface (SAI) at OCP.  OCP and SONiC have contributed

tremendously to each other's growth in the last several years.  SONiC is now

joining the Linux Foundation to expand the communities and industries it

serves.  The OCP & LF SONiC Foundation will continue to work closely together

across hardware and SAI specifications as part of the OCP's hardware-software

co-design strategy," said Dave Maltz, SONiC Foundation Board Member and

Technical Fellow/CVP, Microsoft.

Linux Foundation

"The Linux Foundation is happy to welcome SONiC, a leader in open source data

center NOS deployments, to our growing community of open networking projects

and developer communities," said Arpit Joshipura, general manager, Networking,

Edge, and IoT, the Linux Foundation. "As we focus on the software component of

SONiC, we look forward to partnering with the Open Compute Foundation (OCP) on

aligning hardware and specifications such as SAI."

About the Open Compute Project Foundation

At the core of the open compute project (OCP) is its community of hyperscale

data center operators, joined by telecom and colocation providers and

enterprise IT users, working with vendors to develop open innovations that when

embedded in product are deployed from the cloud to the edge. The OCP Foundation

is responsible for fostering and serving the OCP community to meet the market

and shape the future, taking hyperscale led innovations to everyone. Meeting

the market is accomplished through open designs and best practices, and with

data center facility and IT equipment embedding OCP community developed

innovations for efficiency, at-scale operations, and sustainability.  Shaping

the future includes investing in strategic initiatives that prepares the IT

ecosystem for major changes, such as AI & ML, optics, advanced cooling

techniques, and composable silicon.  Learn more at www.opencompute.org .

Media Contact

Dirk Van Slyke

Open Compute Project Foundation

Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer

dirkv@opencompute.org

Mobile: +1 303-999-7398

(Central Time Zone/CST/Houston, TX)

SOURCE: Open Compute Project Foundation