Dual-socket servers are not always better than single-socket servers.

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In the world of server technology, dual socket was once the cutting edge technology. Dual sockets were the best way to scale the performance of individual servers by putting two processors in a single server - theoretically doubling the performance in roughly the same server footprint. They became prominent during the transition from scale-out (more sockets) to scale-out (more servers) computing. This was the transition from the era of mainframes and multi-socket servers to mainstream dual-socket x86 servers.

Today, dual-socket servers are not required for scale, and in fact, the middle ground is shifting for several reasons. Today’s “true single-socket servers” based on AMD EPYC™ processors can achieve a new optimal level of total cost of ownership (TCO). This is based on past and new variables that are driving the wider adoption of single-socket servers. Today’s EPYC processors have enough cores, memory, and I/O to meet most application performance needs. But be warned, not all single-socket servers are “true single-socket servers” because they skimp on cores, memory channels, I/O lanes, RAS, and so on. To be a “true single-socket server,” they must come close to matching the capabilities of their big brother, the dual-socket server.

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• Server Dell PowerEdge R760 - Intel Xeon Silver 4510 2.4-4.1Ghz 12 Cores

• Server Dell PowerEdge R760 - Intel Xeon Silver 4514Y 2.0-3.4Ghz 16 Cores

• Server Dell PowerEdge R760 - Intel Xeon Gold 6526Y 2.8-3.9Ghz 16 Cores

• Server Dell PowerEdge R760 - Intel Xeon Gold 5420+ 2.0-4.1Ghz 28 Cores

Myths and legends of dual-socket servers.

The biggest myth of all time about dual-socket servers is redundancy. Let's call it an "urban legend" - if one of the server sockets fails, everything running on it switches to the other and continues to work. This is simply not true for common dual-socket servers with common operating systems, but I can't tell you how many times I've heard redundancy in my career.

Reliability is another myth of dual-socket vs. single-socket servers, because reliability is a decreasing function of probability that depends on the failure rate. Failure rate is directly related to complexity, in other words, the more components in a server, the higher the failure rate. Single-socket servers have fewer components in the specification, usually have better power and cooling, can be built around server-class processors, etc., all of which contribute to lower failure rates.

Another misconception about single-socket and dual-socket processors is core density. This myth states that servers need dual-socket processors to achieve high core density and maximum performance. This may be true for competitors, but not for AMD EPYC™. The 4th Gen AMD EPYC™ processor supports up to 128 cores per socket. In comparison, the competitor Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8490H processor supports only 60 cores. This means that AMD’s competitors’ customers who use x86 servers have to take on the additional cost and complexity of a dual-socket server to get performance that is competitive with what AMD can achieve in a “true single-socket server.”

Memory and I/O limitations are an additional myth between dual- and single-socket servers. Again, while this may be a competitive limitation, AMD is offering a "true single-socket server" with 12 DDR5 channels (up to 24 DIMMS) along with 128 PCI Express® Gen5 lanes in a single-socket server. In comparison, the top-of-the-line Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8490H processor in a single-socket configuration would be limited to 8 memory channels (16 DIMMS) and 80 PCI Express Gen5 lanes, requiring customers to purchase more processors to achieve parity in the I/O and memory levels required by the server.

Until AMD released its single-socket server-optimized EPYC™ processors, competitors offered very limited single-socket processors, namely the Intel® Xeon® E family, which was limited to 8 cores, 2 DDR channels (4 DIMMS), and 40 PCI Express Gen4 lanes. This uncompetitive offering likely led to low adoption of single-socket servers in the past and may be the reason for many of the myths and legends between single-socket and dual-socket servers that arose due to the lack of a reliable, enterprise-class "true single-socket server" option.

When a single-socket server is the right solution.

However, there are times when a single-socket server is often better than a dual-socket server. Considerthe Dell Poweredge R7615 server , based on the AMD EPYC™ 9554P processor, which has 64 cores, compared to the Dell Poweredge R760 server , based on the 40-core Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8380 processors, which has a total of 80 cores.

At first glance, an 80-core, dual-socket server might seem to outperform a 64-core, single-socket system. However, it only takes a little closer inspection to see that this is not the case. Although the Intel-based machine has 25% more cores than the AMD-based server, the AMD-based machine is more powerful—about 5% more performance. And this performance is achieved through 25% lower power consumption, a 62% lower list price per processor compared to a competitor's dual-socket server, less NUMA complexity, and fewer parts to fail.

The single-socket configuration enables significant efficiency gains without sacrificing performance. What’s more, these efficiency gains are scalable. For example, to achieve 10,000 integer performance units—a key measure of computer speed—it takes just 12 servers with single-socket 96-core AMD EPYC™ 9654P processors, compared to 17 servers with dual-socket Intel, 40-core Intel Xeon 8380 processors to achieve the same result. The AMD EPYC™ solution uses 29% fewer servers and consumes 47% less energy, saving an estimated 278,148 kWh of electricity over three years, which lowers the total cost of ownership. Reducing energy costs and usage is especially important and challenging today, as energy prices rise and companies strive to maximize their investments.

This is not the death of dual-socket servers.

Of course, this doesn't mean that dual-socket servers are going to die; single-socket servers are just another tool to consider. Dual-socket servers can be the right choice when companies need maximum performance and are willing to pay more for hardware, power, and data center real estate to meet those needs. Such intensive applications include customer relationship management systems, content delivery systems, and others. Single-socket servers are great for standard business applications: networking and security, most database applications, enterprise resource management, special-purpose business applications, supply chain management, human resource management applications, and so on. Dual-socket servers are not going anywhere; the more likely reality is that four-socket servers will converge to dual-socket, and some percentage of dual-socket servers will convert to single-socket. But the general picture is that the world has been migrating from many sockets to fewer since the beginning of computing, two-socket servers have been the workhorse for years, moving from many sockets to one is just part of the optimization process, fighting gravity is never a winning strategy.

What are 10 reasons to consider a "true single-socket server" now?

1. No compromise on performance - a large number of cores and high-performance cores are available in a single-socket server: AMD offers 96 cores in the EPYC™ 9654 and 128 cores in the EPYC™ 9754 for single-socket servers.
2. Scaling memory without adding sockets - 4th Gen EPYC™ single-socket servers can support 12 channels of DDR5 and up to 24 DIMMs with a capacity of up to 6TB.
3. Scaling I/O without compromise - The unique architecture of AMD EPYC™ processors delivers massive I/O capabilities in both single-socket and dual-socket designs, so customers don't have to buy more processors just to get I/O.
4. Reduced complexity - Avoiding the complexity of dual-socket NUMA makes it easier to deploy and plan workloads across a fleet without having to worry about NUMA implications.
5. Reduced consolidation costs - Reducing server complexity simplifies its deployment, management, maintenance, and upgrades.
6. Reliability and cost-effectiveness of fault-tolerant clustering - Many cloud applications require a minimum number of nodes for fault-tolerant clustering. A single-socket server can reduce the cost of fault-tolerant clustering to achieve the minimum number of server nodes.
7. Avoid data center hot spots - Many data centers have power and cooling issues. Deploying single-socket servers allows you to distribute power and cooling throughout the data center.
8. Improved Energy Efficiency - Higher levels of integration have been proven to deliver higher efficiency and overall lower power consumption. In the case of the EPYC 9754 compared to the Intel Xeon 8490H, the 128 cores of the EPYC processor in a single socket consume less power and deliver higher performance than the 64 cores per socket in a dual-socket Xeon.³ In the past, dual sockets have had a SPECpower® advantage in overall energy efficiency by distributing more resources across the two sockets. This is no longer the case with AMD EPYC™.
9. Better licensing cost model (for some applications) - Some applications are still licensed by socket. Moving away from dual-socket servers can reduce licensing costs for some software. Even in core licensing models, it is cheaper to deploy servers with more cores (single-core or dual-core) to amortize the infrastructure cost across more cores.
10. Moving to a multi-host infrastructure - Modern infrastructure moves much of the operating system stack and hypervisor software onto the DPU/SmartNIC. DPUs such as AMD Pensando™ enable DPU sharing across multiple servers. Single-socket servers are ideal for this new deployment model of connecting multiple single-socket servers to a single DPU.

Single-socket server: Excellent choice.

“True single-socket servers” are a great alternative to dual-socket configurations and are often the best alternative in many cases. They give IT pros more options to optimize the modern data center with increased energy efficiency as well as exceptional system performance. Users can even achieve similar results using AMD single-socket servers, but at significantly lower power consumption and cost than competing dual-socket servers.⁴ In other cases, dual-socket servers are the best choice. AMD offers a better choice.

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