Simplifying Windows Migration and Enhancing Compute Performance

27 March 2018

Bring powerful NVIDIA Data Center GPUs to Dell PowerEdge FX blade servers

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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

• Unique architecture: combines Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors and NVIDIA® Tesla® data center GPUs with the efficiency of blades, and the cost benefits of rack-based systems, to handle today’s evolving workloads.
• Market leading density: drives efficiency and performance with up to 128GB of video memory and four dual-socket servers in only 2U of rack space.
• Powerful performance: to handle graphics and GPU accelerated compute for virtual workstation, high-performance computing, big data analytics, machine learning and deep learning.

New York, March 27, 2018 – Amulet Hotkey Inc., a leader in design, manufacturing and system integration for remote physical and virtual workstation solutions, today announced a new and significant addition to the CoreStation blade family based on the Dell EMC PowerEdge FX architecture.

For the first time, powerful NVIDIA Tesla data center GPUs can be used in the industry leading Dell EMC PowerEdge FX architecture. The PowerEdge FX2, a 2U hybrid rack-based computing platform, combines the densities and efficiencies of blades with the simplicity and cost benefits of rack-based systems.

To enable the integration of multiple powerful GPUs in the chassis, Amulet Hotkey has developed a unique PCIe expansion module and GPU accelerator card in collaboration with Dell EMC and NVIDIA product engineering teams. The solution incorporates advanced design engineering and thermal management in order to fit up to eight NVIDIA Tesla P6 GPUs into the FX2 server chassis, while maintaining the benefits of the FC640 blades and FX2 architecture.

The Amulet Hotkey CoreStation VFC640 platform incorporates up to two DXF-EXP-V modules to combine the power of Intel Xeon Scalable processors, NVIDIA Tesla GPUs and the benefits of Dell EMC PowerEdge FC640 blade servers. The result is a powerful and agile platform that can handle a broad range of workloads, from traditional applications, and virtualization through to high performance computing and deep learning workloads.

The CoreStation VFC640 platform builds on the success of six generations of blade workstations. It complements the existing CoreStation M-series by providing an additional platform choice. Customers select the platform and form factor to match their environment.

The CoreStation VFC640 is ideal for:

• Virtual desktops, applications and virtual workstations with GPU acceleration
• High-performance computing and big data analytics
• Machine learning, deep learning, and artificial intelligence

Simplify the Transition to Windows 10 Virtual Desktops

Windows 10 requires 32% more graphics consumption than Windows 7¹, due to graphics acceleration in everyday programs like Office 365, YouTube and others. The CoreStation VFC640 gives a market leading density of up to 128 GPU accelerated virtual desktops in only 2U of rack space. When used with NVIDIA GRID™ vPC software, the CoreStation VFC640 addresses the increased demands of Windows 10 applications, offloads the server CPUs and improves the user experience.

Virtual Workstation and HPC

The CoreStation VFC640 provides a high-performance and agile platform for a broad range of data center workloads including HPC applications, machine and deep learning frameworks or virtual workstations. When used with NVIDIA Quadro® vDWS software, the CoreStation VFC640 solution helps speed the design, visualization and simulation of anything; from animation and movies to cars, wind farms and oil/gas reservoirs. Enhanced security, IP protection and uptime help enable flexible workstyles such as; working from home, being on the road or securely accessing global talent from around the world.

Professionals can connect to their workstation using Amulet Hotkey DXZ zero clients or mobile devices from across the office, across the country or from continent to continent.

“The Amulet Hotkey CoreStation VFC640 expands upon the market leading blade workstation portfolio designed to meet the graphics and compute performance needs of professionals while driving customers’ IT transformations,” said Andrew Jackson, president, Amulet Hotkey Inc. “Our unique solution enables up to eight powerful GPUs, with up to four dual-socket servers in a PowerEdge FX2s chassis. Delivering this capability in an industry standard 2U rackmount form factor demonstrates our commitment to use innovative design and manufacturing to meet enterprise IT needs for a truly flexible and scalable computing architecture.”

“NVIDIA Tesla data center GPUs and NVIDIA virtual GPU software dramatically increase the graphics and compute performance of blade servers to handle evolving workflows with AI, photorealism and unlimited mobility,” said Bob Pette, vice president, professional visualization, NVIDIA. “Customers working with large datasets, complex models or graphics-intensive productivity applications found in Windows 10 can leverage the benefits of high-density blades integrating multiple Tesla GPUs, NVIDIA virtualization software, Dell EMC OEM Solutions and Amulet Hotkey technology.”

“With the increasing adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, customers are looking for enhanced compute solutions that optimize these workloads,” said Ron Pugh, vice President and general manager for the Americas, Dell EMC OEM Solutions. “We are excited to work with Amulet Hotkey to develop game changing solutions for our customers that accelerate IT transformation.

CoreStation VFC640 solution benefits:

• Secure anywhere access: including advanced encryption to protect virtual desktop and virtual workstation sessions so users can connect with confidence from the office, from home, on the road or from overseas.
• Increase productivity and security: ensure datasets stay within the data center to boost application performance, avoid the use of old data across teams while increasing security.
• Power and performance: dual Xeon processors, NVIDIA Tesla GPUs and GRID vPC/vAPP or Quadro vDWS software provide the power to scale Windows 10 VDI or to visualize and manipulate complex designs.
• Scalable and efficient infrastructure: up to four dual-socket servers and up to eight GPU accelerators for 128GB video memory in a FX2s chassis using only 2U of rack space.
• Agility and simplicity: uses intelligent automation and management tools such as Dell EMC OpenManage and the FX2 Chassis Management Controller (CMC).
• Deployment flexibility: uses the industry standard 2U rackmount form factor.

Amulet Hotkey CoreStation VFC640 features:

• Half-height blade that leverages the 14^th generation Dell EMC PowerEdge FC640 blade server
• Up to 32 GPU accelerated users per blade
• One or two Intel Xeon Scalable processors with more cores, fast clock speeds and advanced features such as AVX512 to speed multiple compute intensive workloads
• Up to 2TB ECC Registered DDR4 memory with speeds up to 2666 MT/s
• Two 2.5″ drive bays with options for additional capacity using FD332 storage blades in the FX2s chassis
• Up to two Amulet Hotkey DXF-G-P6 cards that incorporate NVIDIA Tesla P6 GPU accelerators. Provided by the DXF-EXP module. Contact us for configurations with more than two GPUs per blade
• Secondary IO card option to boost blade IO capacity or for native FC ports. Provided by the DXF-EXP module
• Multi-protocol support: Teradici PCoIP, VMware Blast Extreme, Citrix HDX, and Mechdyne TGX
• Support for a range of hypervisor platforms, including VMware ESXi and Citrix XenServer
• Third party connection broker support such as Leostream and VMware Horizon

Amulet Hotkey DXF-EXP-V series PCIe expansion module:

• DXF-EXP module provides four PCIe 3.0 x8 expansion slots. The PCIe slots from up to two DXF-EXP modules are mapped to the appropriate CoreStation VFC640 blades in the FX2s chassis
• Up to four Amulet Hotkey DXF-G-P6 GPU cards that incorporate NVIDIA Tesla P6 GPU accelerators
• Up to two low-profile PCIe secondary IO cards

Contact Amulet Hotkey to discuss customization for your specific deployment requirements.

Availability

The CoreStation VFC640 will be available in May 2018. Click here to submit a request to participate in the CoreStation VFC640 Early Access Program.

For more information contact Amulet Hotkey or visit ahk.publitek.com. 

About Amulet Hotkey

Amulet Hotkey is a proven innovator in design, manufacturing and system integration of high availability solutions for remote physical or virtual workstations, as well as virtual and cloud desktop that are optimized for both mission and business critical applications to deliver robust, secure and uncompromised performance backed up by world-class support. Amulet Hotkey partners with leading manufacturers of data center, cloud and virtualization technologies that enable them to bring to market unique solutions tailored to enterprise IT needs for a truly flexible and scalable computing architecture. Amulet Hotkey customers include Fortune 500 and Global 2000 enterprises as well as local and federal governments. The Amulet Hotkey solutions are deployed in command and control, emergency call centers, investment banks, oil & gas, CAD designers, digital content creation, and post production studios around the world.

Amulet Hotkey was founded in 1990, and is headquartered in the UK where design and manufacturing facilities are based with sales, support and technology centers in London and New York. For more information see ahk.publitek.com.

Copyright © 2018 Amulet Hotkey Ltd. or its subsidiaries. Amulet Hotkey and CoreStation are trademarks of Amulet Hotkey Ltd., and are registered in the United Kingdom, United States and/or other countries. Any other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.

1. ^{Lakeside Software, Inc. “Elevating User Experience Through GPU Acceleration: A Windows 10 versus Windows 7 Analysis.” Lakeside Software White Paper. 2017}