The buzz around ARM architecture has grown tremendously in recent years, and the catalyst for this surge is no doubt Apple’s bold move away from the x86 architecture towards its own M-series chips. Starting with the M1 and now advancing to M2 and M3, Apple’s ARM-based silicon has transformed the perception of what ARM processors can deliver—not only excellent energy efficiency but also impressive raw performance. Users marvel at the battery life and snappy responsiveness of MacBooks powered by these chips. Meanwhile, Microsoft followed suit, releasing Windows 11 for ARM-based laptops, marking an important milestone in mainstream acceptance of ARM beyond smartphones and tablets.
This naturally leads to the question: can the advantages of ARM architecture translate effectively into the server world, where performance demands and workload characteristics differ drastically from laptops? M247 Global place a bet on servers powered by Ampere Altra, one of the leading ARM-based server CPUs aiming to revolutionize data center computing. Starting from 80 and going up to 128 cores per CPU, M247 Global's ARM servers deliver stellar processing power for parallel workloads, helping you complete more tasks simultaneously without the need for dual-CPU systems.
The ARM Revolution: From Mobile to Data Centers
ARM’s roots are deeply planted in mobile computing, where power efficiency is paramount. Its RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) design allows processors to be lean and efficient, consuming far less power than traditional x86 chips used by Intel and AMD. The success of ARM in smartphones and tablets is unquestionable, powering billions of devices worldwide.
With Apple’s move to ARM for Macs, ARM technology earned newfound respect for its ability to combine energy efficiency with high performance. Microsoft’s release of Windows 11 for ARM devices further validated the platform’s growing versatility.
But servers are a different beast. Traditional data centers rely heavily on x86 processors—Intel Xeon and AMD EPYC dominate due to their high single-thread and multi-thread performance, mature software ecosystems, and decades of optimizations. ARM-based servers, historically, were niche and struggled with compatibility and ecosystem maturity.
What ARM Promises for Servers
ARM Holdings, the company behind the architecture, has set ambitious targets. According to Mohamed Awad, Senior Vice President of Infrastructure at ARM, the company aims to increase its share of the global data center CPU market from 15% to 50% by the end of 2025. This is a bold vision, fueled by growth in AI workloads, hyperscale cloud providers' interest, and the increasing cost and energy demands of x86 CPUs.
The promise of ARM in servers revolves around several core advantages:
- Energy Efficiency: ARM chips consume less power, which directly translates into lower cooling and operational costs. This is critical as data centers face skyrocketing energy bills and sustainability goals.
- Scalability: ARM’s modular design allows for high core counts per socket. For example, the Ampere Altra processor boasts up from 32 to 128 cores per CPU, enabling highly parallel workloads and efficient multi-threading.
- Performance per Watt: By delivering impressive throughput while keeping power consumption low, ARM processors help data centers maximize workload density and reduce total cost of ownership (TCO).
- Customizability: ARM licenses its architecture to many companies, allowing for tailored SoCs optimized for specific cloud workloads, such as AI inference, video processing, or database operations.
Ampere Altra: The Front-runner in ARM Servers
Ampere Computing has emerged as a leading player in the ARM server space, with its Altra series designed specifically for cloud and data center applications. The Ampere Altra processors combine ARM’s efficient architecture with a high core count and enterprise-grade reliability.
Some highlights of Ampere Altra (with Max version) include:
- Up to 128 high-performance cores based on ARM Neoverse N1 technology, providing massive parallel processing capability and consistent frequency up to 3.0Ghz
- Single-thread performance comparable to mid- to high-end x86 chips, which is crucial for workloads that can't be fully parallelized.
- Advanced power management features allowing data centers to scale up efficiently without proportionally increasing power draw.
- Support for common server workloads, including containers, Kubernetes clusters, web servers, AI inference, and big data analytics.
What makes Ampere Altra particularly appealing is that it is built from the ground up as a server CPU, unlike earlier ARM chips that were adapted from mobile designs. This focus means better reliability, support for ECC memory, and server-class networking.
Real-World Benefits and Challenges
In practice, the adoption of ARM servers like Ampere Altra offers tangible benefits:
- Reduced Energy Costs: Data centers report significant savings in electricity and cooling when deploying ARM-based servers. Over time, these savings can outweigh any premium paid for hardware.
- Density and Scalability: Higher core counts mean that more virtual machines or containers can run on a single server, improving resource utilization.
- Lower TCO: With power savings, reduced hardware footprint, and improved scalability, companies can reduce operational expenditures.
However, there are challenges to consider:
- Software Compatibility: The x86 ecosystem dominates enterprise and cloud software. While many applications have been ported to ARM, some legacy or niche software might not be available or optimized for ARM yet. This is an area that’s rapidly improving but still requires careful planning.
- Ecosystem Maturity: Tools, libraries, and monitoring solutions for ARM servers are less mature compared to x86. IT teams may face a learning curve and need to adapt workflows.
- Performance Per Core: While ARM chips have closed the gap, some workloads that rely heavily on single-threaded performance might still favor top-end x86 CPUs.
Market Momentum and Use Cases
Despite these hurdles, the ARM server market is growing fast. ARM Holdings claims that its data center customers have increased 14-fold in just four years. Major cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are investing heavily in ARM-based custom silicon projects, indicating strong industry confidence.
The most relevant use cases for ARM servers include:
- Cloud-native applications: Microservices, containers, and Kubernetes clusters benefit from ARM’s scalability and power efficiency.
- AI and Machine Learning Inference: ARM servers can efficiently handle inference workloads with lower power consumption, especially when paired with specialized accelerators.
- Web Hosting and CDN: High-throughput, highly parallelizable workloads such as content delivery and web serving align well with many-core ARM CPUs.
- Big Data and Analytics: ARM’s scalability enables processing of large datasets in parallel, useful for analytics pipelines.
- Edge Computing: ARM’s low power profile makes it ideal for distributed edge data centers close to end-users.
Community and User Feedback
The shift to ARM servers has generated interest and some debate within tech communities. For example, on platforms like Reddit, users ask:
"Anyone running ARM-based servers? If yes, what is your experience, and can you recommend it? I see more ARM-based server offers popping up and am wondering if those are worth a shot. Would I be able to use all/most of my favorite self-hosted software on it similarly to how I use it on my current non-ARM server?"
Responses often highlight the great energy savings and respectable performance, with the caveat that some specialized software may require workarounds or is still catching up. This feedback aligns with industry observations that while ARM servers are increasingly viable, IT teams should verify compatibility with critical software stacks before full deployment.
Looking Ahead
At M247 Global, we believe that ARM architecture in servers is still a relatively young technology, especially compared to decades of x86 dominance. Yet, the pace of development and adoption is accelerating rapidly. With companies like Ampere leading the way and cloud giants, backing ARM designs, the technology is poised to become a mainstream alternative for data centers.
The combination of strong energy efficiency, impressive core scalability, and growing software ecosystem makes ARM servers an attractive option for organizations looking to optimize costs and build sustainable, high-performance infrastructure.
While challenges remain, particularly around software maturity and ecosystem tooling, the trajectory is clear: ARM architecture is carving out a significant role in the future of server computing, and Ampere Altra, is one of the key platforms, making that future a reality. Our clients are already witnessing amazing results, in terms of energy efficiency and performance/cost ratio.
Whether you're looking to optimize cloud-native applications, reduce energy costs, or improve performance for parallel workloads, our ARM servers provide the ideal solution. Request now a personalized quote from M247 Global.