AMD demonstrates Hadoop running on ARM-based Opteron server

AMD pitches its ARM-based servers as ideal for Hadoop deployments

AMD is set to demonstrate the Hadoop big data platform running on an ARM-based Opteron server during a technical session at the JavaOne Conference on Tuesday, in a move aimed at showing off the firm's credentials in the emerging ARM-based server ecosystem.

The chipmaker said that the demonstration will be the first public showcase for the Apache Hadoop platform running on an AMD Opteron A-Series processor, which is based on the 64-bit ARM Cortex-A57 architecture.

The session itself focuses on AMD's 64-bit ARM strategy, and so will also show the hardware being put through its paces with Oracle's Java platform, while AMD will give an update on its OpenJDK project, codenamed Sumatra.

AMD's first 64-bit ARM chip, the Opteron A1100, is still slated for delivery by the end of 2014 by the firm, which delivered the AMD Opteron A1100-Series developer kit for software developers and integrators back in July.

The demonstration will be running on the hardware supplied as part of that developer kit, and will showcase the potential of using 64-bit ARM-based server clusters for processing big data applications using Hadoop, according to AMD corporate fellow Leendert van Doorn.

"This demonstration showcases AMD's leadership in the development of a robust, standards-based ecosystem for ARM servers. Servers powered by AMD Opteron A-Series processors are well-suited for Hadoop, offering an efficient scale-out compute platform that can also double as an economical persistent storage platform," he said.

Leendert will also demonstrate multiple nodes running the same demonstration using Linux environments based on the Red Hat-sponsored Fedora Linux platform and the community supported OpenSUSE Project.

However, AMD risks being overtaken by rivals. The firm first disclosed its Seattle project more than a year ago, and since that time, others have launched or announced 64-but ARM server products, most notably HP which this week delivered ARM-based cartridge modules for its Moonshot server platform.