Supermicro
Encyclopedia
Super Micro Computer, Inc. or Supermicro designs, develops, manufactures and sells servers based on the x86 architecture. The company's offerings include rackmount, tower server
and blade server
systems, high-end workstations, storage server systems, motherboard
s, chassis
, and server components branded under the Server Building Block Solutions product line.
Established in 1993 and headquartered in San Jose, California, Supermicro employed 803 employees at its operations in the United States, Europe, and Asia with customers in over 76 countries, as of June 30, 2008. The company offers its products through value added resellers, system integrators, and original equipment manufacturers, as well as through its direct sales force.
Supermicro generated about $2 billion in sales during its initial 15 years of operation, posting US $540.5 million in annual revenue in FY 2008 (year ending June 30, 2008). Supermicro was founded in 1993 by engineer and current CEO Charles Liang. The company was incorporated in Delaware in August, 2006 and had its IPO in March, 2007.
Supermicro provides a broad selection of barebones
which can be configured to create server systems for specific applications. With this methodology, customized IT designs can be deployed for data centers, high-performance computing clusters, high-end and GPU
-intensive workstation deployments, storage networks, as well as standalone server environments.
UIO cards are similar to PCI-Express cards but can also be added to the server where all available PCI-Express slots are already in use. This technology allows to add up to 3 expansion cards to a 1U server system or 6 expansion cards to a 2U system. Supermicro UIO servers, in combination with a riser card and UIO card, can provide over 20 different networking choices including SAS
-2 RAID, InfiniBand
, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet
. UIO cards are mostly usable with Supermicro servers only.
Supermicro’s Twin Family includes the 1U Twin system which contains two full-feature computing nodes in a 1U chassis. The 2U Twin contains four independent full-feature computing nodes in a 2U chassis. Each node in these systems maintains independent full-function system control and management.
In March 2010 Supermicro announced a new class of servers that combines massively parallel GPUs with multi-core CPUs in a single server system. Supermicro's claim is that this configuration delivers performance at least an order of magnitude better than traditional quad-core CPU-based servers. The goal behind this technology was to give users the ability to implement tasks that were traditionally addressed only with highly-scaled systems such as supercomputers.
Based on growing market demand for blade solutions, Supermicro developed and introduced in 2007 a blade server solution
called SuperBlade. These systems are self-contained servers designed to share a common computing infrastructure, the aim of which was to save additional space and power. The Supermicro blade solutions include the DatacenterBlade, a 14-blade offering for data centers; the 10-blade OfficeBlade aimed at quiet office environments; and StorageBlade for data center storage. A 14U Mini Rack Cabinet designed for office and lab environments is also included in the SuperBlade solution line-up.
(CSCI) as a major member and Chair of its CSCI APEC Region. CSCI's goal is to promote the development, deployment and adoption of smart technologies that can improve computer efficiencies, with a goal to achieve 50% reduction in computer power consumption by 2010. It has been publicly stated that Supermicro strives to design its products with energy efficiency in mind to support the company's motto: We Keep IT Green.
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
and blade server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
systems, high-end workstations, storage server systems, motherboard
Motherboard
In personal computers, a motherboard is the central printed circuit board in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple...
s, chassis
Computer case
A computer case is the enclosure that contains most of the components of a computer...
, and server components branded under the Server Building Block Solutions product line.
Established in 1993 and headquartered in San Jose, California, Supermicro employed 803 employees at its operations in the United States, Europe, and Asia with customers in over 76 countries, as of June 30, 2008. The company offers its products through value added resellers, system integrators, and original equipment manufacturers, as well as through its direct sales force.
Supermicro generated about $2 billion in sales during its initial 15 years of operation, posting US $540.5 million in annual revenue in FY 2008 (year ending June 30, 2008). Supermicro was founded in 1993 by engineer and current CEO Charles Liang. The company was incorporated in Delaware in August, 2006 and had its IPO in March, 2007.
History
Following is a brief history of Supermicro business milestones:- Founded by engineer Charles Liang in October, 1993 in San Jose, CA
- Expanded operations to Taipei, Taiwan in July, 1996
- Incorporated in Delaware on August 28, 2006
- Unveiled first 1U Twin in January, 2007
- Announced UIO architecture in March, 2007
- Announced Initial Public Offering on March 29, 2007
- Launched SuperBlade at ComputexComputex TaipeiCOMPUTEX Taipei, or Taipei International Information Technology Show , is a computer expo held annually in Taipei, Taiwan. Since the early 2000s, it has become one of the largest computer and technology fairs in the world.-Development:...
in June, 2007 - Surpassed $2 billion in cumulative revenue since founding in May, 2008
- Announced new 2U Twin server architecture in February, 2008
- Unveiled new class of product, the GPU Supercomputing Server, in June, 2009
Product scope
Supermicro offers server barebones ("superservers"), motherboards, chassis, rack cabinets, networking equipment like switches, power supplies and a number of extension cards and accessories. Supermicro is known for the world's first double-sided storage chassis that featured 36 hot-swap 3.5" hard drive trays with 24 in the front and 12 in the rear. The chassis, offered in 2009, was roughly the size of the ordinary desktop (4 HE).Key technologies
- Server Building Block Solutions
Supermicro provides a broad selection of barebones
Barebone computer
A barebone computer is a partially assembled platform or an unassembled kit of computer parts allowing more customization and lower costs than a retail computer system. They are available for desktop computer, notebook and server purposes, and in nearly any form factor...
which can be configured to create server systems for specific applications. With this methodology, customized IT designs can be deployed for data centers, high-performance computing clusters, high-end and GPU
Graphics processing unit
A graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...
-intensive workstation deployments, storage networks, as well as standalone server environments.
- Universal I/O (UIO)
UIO cards are similar to PCI-Express cards but can also be added to the server where all available PCI-Express slots are already in use. This technology allows to add up to 3 expansion cards to a 1U server system or 6 expansion cards to a 2U system. Supermicro UIO servers, in combination with a riser card and UIO card, can provide over 20 different networking choices including SAS
Serial Attached SCSI
Serial Attached SCSI is a computer bus used to move data to and from computer storage devices such as hard drives and tape drives. SAS depends on a point-to-point serial protocol that replaces the parallel SCSI bus technology that first appeared in the mid 1980s in data centers and workstations,...
-2 RAID, InfiniBand
InfiniBand
InfiniBand is a switched fabric communications link used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. Its features include high throughput, low latency, quality of service and failover, and it is designed to be scalable...
, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet
10 Gigabit Ethernet
The 10 gigabit Ethernet computer networking standard was first published in 2002. It defines a version of Ethernet with a nominal data rate of 10 Gbit/s , ten times faster than gigabit Ethernet.10 gigabit Ethernet defines only full duplex point to point links which are generally connected by...
. UIO cards are mostly usable with Supermicro servers only.
- Twin Family
Supermicro’s Twin Family includes the 1U Twin system which contains two full-feature computing nodes in a 1U chassis. The 2U Twin contains four independent full-feature computing nodes in a 2U chassis. Each node in these systems maintains independent full-function system control and management.
- GPU Supercomputing Servers
In March 2010 Supermicro announced a new class of servers that combines massively parallel GPUs with multi-core CPUs in a single server system. Supermicro's claim is that this configuration delivers performance at least an order of magnitude better than traditional quad-core CPU-based servers. The goal behind this technology was to give users the ability to implement tasks that were traditionally addressed only with highly-scaled systems such as supercomputers.
- SuperBlade Solutions
Based on growing market demand for blade solutions, Supermicro developed and introduced in 2007 a blade server solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
called SuperBlade. These systems are self-contained servers designed to share a common computing infrastructure, the aim of which was to save additional space and power. The Supermicro blade solutions include the DatacenterBlade, a 14-blade offering for data centers; the 10-blade OfficeBlade aimed at quiet office environments; and StorageBlade for data center storage. A 14U Mini Rack Cabinet designed for office and lab environments is also included in the SuperBlade solution line-up.
Environmental responsibility
Supermicro has stated that it supports the Climate Savers Computing InitiativeClimate Savers Computing Initiative
The Climate Savers Computing Initiative is a nonprofit group of consumers, businesses and conservation organizations dedicated to promoting smart technologies that can improve the power efficiency and reduce the energy consumption of computers...
(CSCI) as a major member and Chair of its CSCI APEC Region. CSCI's goal is to promote the development, deployment and adoption of smart technologies that can improve computer efficiencies, with a goal to achieve 50% reduction in computer power consumption by 2010. It has been publicly stated that Supermicro strives to design its products with energy efficiency in mind to support the company's motto: We Keep IT Green.