AMD has introduced a new Data Processing Unit (DPU). The AMD Pensando Salina is a 400G capable DPU crafted to rival the NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPU in front-end network applications. This DPU is equipped with 16 Arm Neoverse N1 cores and can support up to 128GB of onboard DDR5 memory, including the company’s P4 packet processing engine. STH spotted it during the AMD Advancing AI event alongside the AMD EPYC 9005 “Turin” launch and wanted to share the details.
AMD Pensando Salina 400 DPU
Presented below is a quick specification overview. The 232 P4 MPU serves as the core of the card’s packet processing capabilities. Coupled with the 16 Arm Neoverse N1 cores, this card offers extensive flexibility and processing power. It’s crucial to point out that there are dual 400GbE connections; however, the card is designed with a PCIe Gen5 x16 interface, which allows only a single 400GbE link to be driven from the host system, not two simultaneously.
Displayed here is the card itself. It features a full-height design with two optical cages and a substantial heatsink spanning the card’s surface. An interesting observation is the absence of an out-of-band management NIC. In contrast, NVIDIA’s BlueField DPUs, and even the latest BlueField SuperNICs, typically include an out-of-band management port alongside the primary data ports. During a previous experience with an AMD Pensando DSC2-100G Elba DPU in a secret lab, we noticed that VMware ESXi was not utilizing the out-of-band management port either.
At the rear of the device, we notice a power input, which is quite standard as these DPUs often consume significant amounts of power. However, what truly stands out is the presence of a SATA port—something that is quite surprising for 2024.
We can also observe the card, which is equipped with a heatsink for optimal performance.
Here’s a look at the reverse side of the card featuring a robust heatspreader.
According to AMD, this unit is capable of managing high volumes of traffic, handling up to 5 million connections per second thanks to its programmable P4 engines.
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