Fujitsu Limited has launched a new Primergy series of PC servers(1), the RX2530 M4p, which features a high-speed virtual switch optimised for 5G(2) communications.

The new model comes equipped with the Intel Xeon Gold 6138P processor with integrated FPGA(3) as standard and includes a virtual switch for performing packet processing in a virtual network.

By including an FPGA with logic circuits designed by Fujitsu in the virtual switch, the new model delivers packet processing speeds that are roughly 4.5 times faster than a conventional virtual switch using only a CPU, to offer low-latency, high-speed data transmissions.

Going forward, Fujitsu will leverage this and other technologies to support an ecosystem of new services in the 5G era and contribute to the DX (digital transformation) of its customers.

The RX2530 M4p additionally supports the creation of a high-speed network in a virtual environment with interface conversion technology developed by Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. and boosting the number of virtual switch ports through the use of multiple FPGAs within the same server.

1. Low latency in packet processing in a virtual environment

Offloading the virtual switch’s packet transmission processing onto an FPGA integrated with the CPU allows the new model to process 64-byte packets such as voice and sensor data at a rate of 100 million packets per second to achieve processing speeds that are roughly 4.5 times faster than conventional technology.

This enables 5G data packet transmissions with extremely low latency.

2. Easy to convert existing virtual networks into high-speed networks

Because the model is provided together with software that runs the FPGA as a virtual switch, it is easy to convert customers’ existing virtual network environments to high-speed networks using their current settings.

3. Effective allocation of resources

By using it in combination with an FPGA, the freed-up CPU cores can be applied to processing other applications, including firewall or load balancing, thereby achieving an effective allocation of resources.

(1) PC servers according to IDC Quarterly Server Tracker, 2018Q4 from the IT market research firm IDC Japan, Fujitsu x86 servers, including the FUJITSU Server Primergy series, in 2018 attained the No. 1 share of vendor revenue in Japan x86 server market for the third year in a row, and also attained the No. 1 share in number of shipment units.

(2) 5G Abbreviation of 3GPP’s 5th Generation system. Refers to the fifth generation of mobile communications standards, which have recently been defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a global organisation for establishing mobile communication standards, joined by Fujitsu and other major companies around the world in fields related to mobile communications.

The 5G system standards include an agreement to deliver improvements such as higher speeds, greater capacity, lower latency, and higher reliability, compared with the existing LTE and LTE-Advanced systems. Specifications for the 5G system were initially completed in December 2017.

(3) FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) A large-scale semiconductor device whose logic circuits can be rewritten.