Ubuntu and HP’s Moonshot extend the benefit of the ARM architecture to the data centre

Hyperscale, scale out and cloud computing are the hot topics in the server space today. Driven by increasing Internet traffic, massive amounts of data and widespread adoption of Linux-based open source workloads, companies ranging from Paypal and Bloomberg to Facebook are taking a fresh look at their approach to data centre infrastructure. The key elements of this disruption: innovation, automation, lower TCO, greater density, optimised power/performance ratios and even new architectures like ARM’s 64-bit ARMv8.

In response, as part of its HP ProLiant Moonshot portfolio, HP is today launching two new ARM-powered server cartridges: the TI KeyStone II-powered m800 and the Applied Micro X-Gene-powered m400 – the latter representing the first enterprise-class 64-bit ARM server in the world. On each cartridge is a high-density, ARM-based server-grade system-on-a-chip (SoC) in a form-factor which can be rapidly deployed to deliver the value that Moonshot offers to customers.  And powering each of these cartridges is the latest Ubuntu Server release, 14.04 LTS, which comes preinstalled and ready to run every class of scale-out workload, including Web 2.0, Big Data, storage, NFV and more.

Managing a chassis with tens to hundreds of nodes of multiple architectures in a cost-effective way really benefits from a completely new approach to provisioning and management. And this is exactly what Canonical and HP have partnered to deliver on the new ARM-based cartridges: out of the box the cartridges are manageable with Juju service orchestration and MAAS (Metal-as-a-Service) automated provisioning. These tools make it simple to deploy, manage and grow complex workloads like LAMP, OpenStack and Hadoop — in fact, it’s possible to get full deployments running in minutes. Ubuntu is the leading OS for cloud, scale-out and ARM-based hyperscale computing. It is the only operating system that boasts full support for every Moonshot server cartridge, covering hardware based on both x86 and ARM chipsets.

According to HP’s press release, “Canonical offers Ubuntu, and orchestration tools Juju and Metal-as-a-Service (MAAS) software pre-installed on HP ProLiant Moonshot servers to enable customers to deploy complex workloads quickly.”

We’ve partnered with HP to meet customer demand for performance, openness and choice: with Moonshot and ARM we are together bringing new innovation to the the server marketplace. With Ubuntu on the Moonshot program, HP has made a huge commitment to Canonical, and Ubuntu Server (including the powerful management tools Canonical delivers) will enable our joint customers to confidently deploy massively scaled-out workloads.  Our goal continues to be to provide best in class solutions, and ultimately deliver the best customer experience.

Come witness it at HP’s keynote at ARM Techcon, this week in Santa Clara.