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Microserver

Microserver is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Microserver rather than just read about it. In short: A microserver is a server-class computer which is based on a system on a chip (SoC). The goal is to integrate all of the server motherboard functions onto a single microchip, except DRAM, boot FLASH and power circuits.

Microserver — main illustration
Microserver — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Microserver belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Microserver to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Microserver from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A microserver is a server-class computer which is based on a system on a chip (SoC). The goal is to integrate all of the server motherboard functions onto a single microchip, except DRAM, boot FLASH and power circuits. Thus, the main chip contains more than only compute cores, caches, memory interfaces and PCI controllers. It typically also contains SATA, networking, serial port and boot FLASH interfaces on the same chip. This eliminates support chips (and therefore area, power and cost) at the board level. Multiple microservers can be put together in a small package to construct dense data center (example: DOME MicroDataCenter).

History The term "microserver" first appeared in the late 1990s and was popularized by a Palo Alto incubator; PicoStar when incubating Cobalt Microservers. Microserver again appeared around 2010 and is commonly misunderstood to imply low performance. Microservers first appeared in the embedded market, where due to cost and space these types of SoCs appeared before they did in general purpose computing. Indeed, recent research indicates that emerging scale-out services and popular datacenter workloads (e.g., as in CloudSuite) require a certain degree of single-thread performance (with out-of-order execution cores) which may be lower than those in conventional desktop processors but much higher than those in the embedded systems. A modern microserver typically offers medium-high performance at high packaging densities, allowing very small compute node form factors. This can result in high energy efficiency (operations per Watt), typically better than that of highest single-thread performance processors. One of the early microservers is the 32-bit SheevaPlug. There are plenty of consumer grade 32-bit microservers available, for instance the Banana Pi as seen on Comparison of single-board computers. Early 2015, even a 64-bit consumer grade microserver is announced. Mid 2017 consumer-grade 64-bit microservers started appear, for example the Raspberry-Pi3. Data center–grade microservers need to be 64-bit and run server class operating systems such as RHEL or SUSE.

Commercialization Dell was among the first to build a commercially available microserver. In May 2009 Dell launched the Fortuna platform based on the VIA Nano processor. The system was designed for a specific European customer. SeaMicro followed shortly after Dell with one of the first generally available microservers. SeaMicro launched the SM10000 in June 2010. The SM1000 was based on the Intel Atom processor. SeaMicro followed the SM1000 with the SM1000-64 using a 64 bit Atom processor, and then switched to Intel's Sandy Bridge processor for the SM1000-XE in 2011. They were acquired by AMD in 2012. Calxeda, now out of business, was one of the first companies to start building ARM based microservers, using 32-bit ARM cores. They went out of business before they could make the transition to 64-bit. Hewlett-Packard has the commercial Moonshot product line with 64-bit capability. in 2016, the startup Kaleao introduced the KMAX product line based on ARM In 2015 microservers, sometimes also (confusingly) called 'scale-out servers' or even 'scale-in servers' are getting plenty of attention in the press.

See also Server appliance DOME MicroDataCenter Asperitas Microdatacenter

References

Illustrations

Microserver: DOME P5020, 139 mm × 55 mm microserver
DOME P5020, 139 mm × 55 mm microserver
Microserver: DOME T4240 revision 1, prototype microserver
DOME T4240 revision 1, prototype microserver
Microserver: DOME T4240ZMS, production microserver
DOME T4240ZMS, production microserver

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Microserver

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Microserver claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Microserver before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Microserver ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Microserver

In research
Microserver appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Microserver in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Microserver is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer-related introductions in 2010, Servers (computing), System on a chip, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Microserver outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Microserver in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Microserver means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Microserver out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Microserver in simple terms?

A microserver is a server-class computer which is based on a system on a chip (SoC). The goal is to integrate all of the server motherboard functions onto a single microchip, except DRAM, boot FLASH and power circuits.

Why does Microserver matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Microserver?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Microserver.

Tags

  • Computer-related introductions in 2010
  • Servers (computing)
  • System on a chip

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