Project Goals

1. Project Goals: High-Density, Low-Latency Compute Platform (Model: Apex-7000X)

This document details the technical specifications and intended deployment parameters for the "Project Goals" server configuration, codenamed Apex-7000X. This platform has been engineered to meet stringent requirements for high-throughput data processing, complex virtualization density, and mission-critical, low-latency transactional workloads. The design emphasizes a balance between raw computational power, high-speed I/O, and power efficiency within a standard 2U rack footprint.

The target architecture is designed for organizations requiring significant compute resources without compromising on storage responsiveness or network bandwidth, making it suitable for large-scale in-memory databases, advanced analytics, and high-performance computing (HPC) simulation environments.

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1. 1. 1. Hardware Specifications

The Apex-7000X system is built upon a dual-socket motherboard architecture designed for maximum memory bandwidth and PCIe lane utilization. All components have been selected based on enterprise-grade reliability (MTBF > 150,000 hours) and validated compatibility through rigorous stress testing protocols.

1. 1. 1. 1.1. Central Processing Units (CPUs)

The system supports two (2x) of the latest generation enterprise CPUs, selected for high core count, large L3 cache segregation, and superior Instruction Per Cycle (IPC) performance.

**CPU Configuration Details**

Parameter	Specification	Rationale
Model Family	Intel Xeon Scalable (Sapphire Rapids Refresh)	Proven enterprise stability and advanced feature set (e.g., AMX support).
Quantity	2 Sockets	Enables dual-socket optimization for NUMA-aware applications.
Specific Model	Xeon Platinum 8592+ (or equivalent)	Maximizes core count and cache size.
Core Count (Total)	64 Cores per CPU (128 Total Physical Cores)	High density for virtualization and parallel processing.
Thread Count (Total)	128 Threads per CPU (256 Total Logical Processors)	Supports Hyper-Threading (HT) for improved throughput.
Base Clock Frequency	2.20 GHz	Balanced frequency for sustained high load.
Max Turbo Frequency (Single Core)	Up to 4.0 GHz	Essential for latency-sensitive, lightly-threaded tasks.
L3 Cache Size (Total)	112.5 MB per CPU (225 MB Total)	Large cache minimizes main memory access latency.
TDP (Thermal Design Power)	350W per CPU	Requires robust cooling infrastructure (See Section 5).
Platform Support	PCIe Gen 5.0, CXL 1.1	Crucial for high-speed interconnects to accelerators and memory expansion.

The selection of the Platinum tier ensures access to advanced features such as AMX instructions, which are critical for accelerating deep learning inference tasks embedded within transactional systems.

1. 1. 1. 1.2. System Memory (RAM)

Memory configuration prioritizes capacity and speed, utilizing all available memory channels per CPU socket to ensure maximum memory bandwidth, a key metric for data-intensive workloads.

**RAM Configuration Details**

Parameter	Specification	Rationale
Type	DDR5 ECC Registered DIMM (RDIMM)	Superior speed and error correction compared to DDR4.
Speed	4800 MT/s (PC5-38400)	Optimal speed for current generation Xeon processors when fully populated.
Capacity (Total)	2048 GB (2 TB)	Target capacity for large in-memory databases (e.g., SAP HANA).
Configuration	16 x 128 GB DIMMs	Fully utilizing 8 channels per CPU socket (16 total slots).
Memory Channels Active	8 Channels per CPU (16 Total)	Achieves peak theoretical memory bandwidth.
Memory Type Support	Persistent Memory (PMEM/CXL Memory) Ready	Future-proofing for tiered memory solutions.

Achieving 2TB of RAM in a 2U form factor provides a high memory-to-CPU core ratio (approximately 16GB per core), which is crucial for database servers and large analytical engines where data residency is paramount to performance. Understanding the memory hierarchy is essential for optimal application tuning on this platform.

1. 1. 1. 1.3. Storage Subsystem

The storage solution is a hybrid configuration optimized for both high-speed transactional I/O (NVMe) and high-capacity, lower-cost archival storage (SAS SSD/HDD). The design leverages PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes extensively for front-end performance.

1. 1. 1. 1. 1.3.1. Primary Boot and OS Drives

Two (2x) dedicated M.2 NVMe drives are used for the operating system and hypervisor installation, ensuring OS activities do not contend with primary application I/O.

• **Type:** M.2 NVMe (PCIe Gen 4.0 x4)
• **Capacity:** 1.92 TB each (RAID 1 Mirror)
• **Endurance:** 3 DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day)

1. 1. 1. 1. 1.3.2. High-Performance Application Storage (Tier 0/1)

The primary data store utilizes front-accessible U.2 NVMe drives managed by a high-performance NVMe-oF controller (or integrated PCIe switch for local operation).

**Primary NVMe Storage Array**

Parameter	Specification	Quantity
Form Factor	U.2 NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 5.0 x4 capable)	12 Drives
Capacity per Drive	7.68 TB	High capacity combined with Gen 5 performance.
Total Usable Capacity (RAID 10)	~46 TB (Estimated)	Provides significant read/write redundancy and parallelism.
Peak Sequential Read	> 14 GB/s (Aggregate)	Exceeds standard PCIe Gen 4 limits.
Peak IOPS (4K Random Read)	> 3.5 Million IOPS (Aggregate)	Essential for high-concurrency transactional databases.

1. 1. 1. 1. 1.3.3. Secondary Storage (Tier 2/Archive)

For less frequently accessed data, a rear-mounted bay provides SAS SSD capacity.

• **Form Factor:** 2.5" SAS SSD (SATA/SAS Interface)
• **Capacity per Drive:** 15.36 TB
• **Quantity:** 4 Drives (Configurable in RAID 5/6)

1. 1. 1. 1.4. Networking Interface Controllers (NICs)

Network connectivity is critical for minimizing latency in distributed processing environments. The Apex-7000X is equipped with a high-density, low-latency network interface configuration.

**Network Interface Configuration**

Port Type	Speed	Quantity	Usage Priority
Ethernet (Primary Data)	4 x 100 GbE (QSFP28/QSFP-DD)	2 Ports	High-speed storage networking (e.g., Ceph, vSAN) or backend cluster communication.
Ethernet (Management/Out-of-Band)	1GbE Baseboard Management Controller (BMC)	1 Port	Dedicated IP for Intelligent Platform Management Interface.
Optional Accelerator NIC Slot	PCIe Gen 5.0 x16 Full Height	1 Slot	Reserved for specialized cards (e.g., InfiniBand HDR/NDR, specialized FPGAs).

The use of 100GbE ensures that network latency does not become the bottleneck when communicating with storage arrays or other cluster nodes, especially when utilizing RDMA.

1. 1. 1. 1.5. Expansion Capabilities (PCIe Slots)

The system provides extensive I/O flexibility via PCIe Gen 5.0 slots, offering 128 available lanes from the dual CPUs, shared efficiently across storage controllers and expansion cards.

• **Total Slots:** 6 (x16 physical slots)
• **Lane Configuration:** Typically configured as 2x x16, 4x x8 (depending on BIOS/Riser configuration).
• **GPU/Accelerator Support:** Capable of supporting up to two (2x) double-width, full-height, double-length accelerators (e.g., NVIDIA H100, AMD Instinct MI300) provided thermal constraints are met. Detailed lane allocation diagrams are available in the chassis documentation.

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1. 1. 2. Performance Characteristics

The performance profile of the Apex-7000X is defined by its exceptional memory bandwidth, high transactional I/O capability, and strong multi-threaded computational density. Benchmarks are executed using standardized enterprise testing suites.

1. 1. 1. 2.1. Synthetic Benchmark Results

Synthetic tests confirm the hardware achieves near theoretical maximums for key subsystems.

1. 1. 1. 1. 2.1.1. Memory Bandwidth Measurement

Utilizing STREAM benchmark tools, the aggregate memory bandwidth achieved is critical for large dataset processing.

**STREAM Benchmark Results (Aggregate)**

Test	Result (GB/s)	% of Theoretical Max
Triad Read	785 GB/s	96%
Copy	770 GB/s	95%
Scale (Single Precision)	755 GB/s	93%

The high utilization (93-96%) demonstrates that the memory controller configuration and DIMM population strategy successfully avoided significant bottlenecks, a common issue in high-density memory deployments.

1. 1. 1. 1. 2.1.2. Storage I/O Performance

Testing focused on a 46TB RAID 10 array populated with Gen 5 NVMe drives running a simulated database workload (80% Read / 20% Write mix, 64KB block size).

**Storage Performance (46TB NVMe Array)**

Metric	Value	Notes
Sequential Read Throughput	13.8 GB/s	Sustained across 80% data utilization.
Sequential Write Throughput	6.5 GB/s	Limited by controller write caching policy.
Random 4K Read IOPS	3,100,000 IOPS	Achieved at 80% Queue Depth (QD32).
Random 4K Write IOPS	1,850,000 IOPS	Achieved at 80% Queue Depth (QD32).
Average Latency (Read)	48 microseconds ($\mu s$)	Measured at the OS interface level.

These metrics confirm the platform's suitability for OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) systems requiring consistently low latency access to primary datasets. Further analysis of latency distribution is recommended for mission-critical tuning.

1. 1. 1. 2.2. Real-World Application Benchmarks

Performance was validated using industry-standard application simulations reflective of the intended use cases.

1. 1. 1. 1. 2.2.1. Virtualization Density (VMware vSphere 8.0)

The system was configured as a hypervisor host running demanding virtual machines (VMs) configured with 8 vCPUs and 64GB RAM each.

• **Result:** Successfully sustained **50 production-grade VMs** with an average CPU Ready time consistently below 1.5%.
• **Conclusion:** The 128 physical cores and 2TB RAM allow for a high consolidation ratio without introducing significant resource contention. Optimal VM sizing guidelines should be consulted.

1. 1. 1. 1. 2.2.2. In-Memory Database Transaction Rate (TPC-C Simulation)

Simulating a large-scale TPC-C workload (equivalent to 100,000 virtual users) on a 2TB database hosted entirely in memory.

• **Result:** Sustained **450,000 Transactions Per Minute (TPM)** with P99 latency remaining below 5ms.
• **Analysis:** This performance is driven directly by the 225MB L3 cache size, which allows frequently accessed working sets to remain resident near the cores, minimizing costly DRAM access.

1. 1. 1. 1. 2.2.3. HPC Workload (Molecular Dynamics Simulation)

Running the NAMD benchmark on a complex protein folding model.

• **Result:** Achieved **1,850,000 MCS (Million Cycles per Second)** using 256 threads.
• **Note:** This benchmark primarily stresses floating-point throughput and inter-core communication, confirming the efficacy of the dual-socket topology and high-speed interconnect fabrics within the CPU package.

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1. 1. 3. Recommended Use Cases

The Apex-7000X configuration is not intended for general-purpose hosting but is specifically optimized for environments where performance ceilings are frequently met by current infrastructure.

1. 1. 1. 3.1. High-Scale In-Memory Databases (IMDB)

This configuration is architecturally ideal for running large instances of SAP HANA, Redis Enterprise, or specialized financial trading databases.

• **Key Requirement Met:** The 2TB of high-speed DDR5 RAM coupled with massive core counts allows the entire working dataset to reside in memory, eliminating storage latency for transactional lookups.
• **Tuning Focus:** Requires operating system tuning for NUMA awareness and disabling aggressive power saving states (C-States) to maintain consistent turbo frequencies. NUMA node binding is mandatory for peak performance.

1. 1. 1. 3.2. Intensive Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

For VDI environments where users require premium, desktop-like performance (e.g., CAD/Engineering workstations), this density is beneficial.

• **Key Requirement Met:** The high core count allows for the provisioning of VMs with high vCPU-to-physical-core ratios (e.g., 4:1 or 6:1) without performance degradation, supporting hundreds of simultaneous high-demand users.

1. 1. 1. 3.3. Real-Time Analytics and Data Warehousing (OLAP)

Environments running complex SQL queries against petabyte-scale data lakes (when partitioned appropriately) benefit significantly.

• **Key Requirement Met:** The 14 GB/s sequential read bandwidth from the NVMe array, combined with 785 GB/s of internal memory bandwidth, allows the system to rapidly stream large datasets into the processing cores for aggregation and transformation. Modern OLAP deployments favor this I/O profile.

1. 1. 1. 3.4. AI/ML Inference Serving Clusters

While not optimized as a dedicated deep learning training server (lacking high-count GPUs), it serves exceptionally well as a serving layer for pre-trained models.

• **Key Requirement Met:** The integrated AMX instructions on the CPU accelerate matrix multiplication tasks common in inference pipelines (e.g., large language model serving), providing high throughput without the overhead of GPU context switching for smaller models.

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1. 1. 4. Comparison with Similar Configurations

To contextualize the Apex-7000X, it is compared against two common alternative enterprise server profiles: a high-density storage server (Apex-S7000) and a GPU-accelerated compute server (Apex-A7000).

1. 1. 1. 4.1. Configuration Comparison Table

This table highlights the trade-offs made in the Apex-7000X design philosophy.

**Server Configuration Comparison**

Feature	**Apex-7000X (Project Goals)**	Apex-S7000 (Storage Optimized)	Apex-A7000 (Accelerator Focused)
Form Factor	2U Rackmount	4U Rackmount	4U Liquid-Cooled
Total CPU Cores	128 Cores	96 Cores (Lower TDP)	96 Cores (Lower TDP)
Total System RAM	**2 TB DDR5**	4 TB DDR5 (Slower Speeds)	1 TB DDR5 (Higher Latency)
Primary Storage Bus	**12x U.2 NVMe (Gen 5)**	24x SAS/SATA HDD (Gen 4)	8x U.2 NVMe (Gen 4)
Network Bandwidth	**2 x 100GbE**	4 x 25GbE	2 x 400GbE (InfiniBand)
Accelerator Slots	2x PCIe Gen 5.0 x16	0 Full-Height Slots	**4x PCIe Gen 5.0 x16 (Dedicated)**
Primary Strength	Balanced Compute & Low-Latency I/O	Raw Storage Capacity & Data Locality	Parallel Processing (AI/HPC)

1. 1. 1. 4.2. Performance Trade-off Analysis

The Apex-7000X excels where both massive memory capacity and fast I/O are required simultaneously.

• **Versus Apex-S7000:** The S7000 offers double the raw storage capacity but suffers significantly in CPU performance (33% fewer cores) and I/O responsiveness (slower NVMe bus and lower CPU clock speeds). The 7000X is preferred for active datasets, whereas the S7000 is for cold/warm storage tiers.
• **Versus Apex-A7000:** The A7000 configuration dedicates significant thermal and power budget to GPUs, yielding superior performance in highly parallelized training models. However, the 7000X provides superior overall *CPU-bound* transactional throughput due to its higher RAM speed/capacity ratio and full utilization of the CPU architecture's internal interconnects for general-purpose tasks. Choosing the right specialization is crucial.

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1. 1. 5. Maintenance Considerations

Deploying a high-density, high-power configuration like the Apex-7000X necessitates stringent attention to environmental factors, specifically power delivery and thermal management.

1. 1. 1. 5.1. Power Requirements and Redundancy

The combined TDP of the dual CPUs (700W) plus the power draw of the NVMe array and memory modules results in a significant peak power draw.

• **Peak Power Draw (Estimate):** 1400W – 1600W (Under full stress with accelerators)
• **Recommended PSU Configuration:** Dual 2200W 80+ Titanium Certified Hot-Swappable Power Supplies.
• **Redundancy:** N+1 redundancy is mandatory. The system must be deployed in racks fed by dual, independent power distribution units (PDUs) connected to separate utility feeds. Best practices for high-density power must be followed.

1. 1. 1. 5.2. Thermal Management and Cooling

Due to the 350W TDP CPUs and the dense component layout within the 2U chassis, air cooling requires careful planning.

• **Airflow Requirements:** Minimum sustained airflow of **450 CFM** across the motherboard plane is required.
• **Rack Configuration:** Should be deployed in racks with high-static pressure fans and maintained at a controlled inlet temperature of **22°C (71.6°F)** or lower.
• **Monitoring:** The BMC must be configured to report thermal throttling events immediately. Sustained operation above 85°C junction temperature (Tj) on the CPUs must trigger high-priority alerts. Consideration should be given to migrating to Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC) if the density exceeds 10 nodes per rack.

1. 1. 1. 5.3. Serviceability and Uptime

The design adheres to standard enterprise serviceability guidelines to minimize Mean Time To Repair (MTTR).

• **Hot-Swap Components:** CPUs and Memory are *not* hot-swappable. All storage drives (NVMe and SAS/SATA) and PSUs are hot-swappable.
• **Diagnostic Tools:** The integrated BMC supports remote firmware updates (BIOS, RAID Controller, NICs) via Redfish API, allowing for zero-downtime patching where possible, especially for non-critical firmware updates. BMC remote management protocols must be secured.
• **Warranty and Support:** Due to the high-performance nature of the components, a comprehensive 5-year, 4-hour response hardware support contract is required for all deployed units.

1. 1. 1. 5.4. Operating System and Firmware Compatibility

To leverage features like PCIe Gen 5.0 and CXL 1.1, the system requires modern, validated software stacks.

• **Minimum BIOS Version:** Must run BIOS version 4.1.0 or later to ensure optimal memory training and PCIe lane assignment stability.
• **Recommended OS:** Linux Kernel 6.2+ (for optimal scheduler performance and hardware enablement) or Windows Server 2022 (with latest Intel drivers). Compatibility with vSphere 8.0 Update 2+ has been verified for NUMA balancing.

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• • Conclusion:** The Apex-7000X configuration represents a significant investment in balanced, high-density, low-latency compute power. Its success depends entirely on the rigorous adherence to the specified power and cooling requirements outlined in Section 5, ensuring the hardware operates within its validated performance envelope for mission-critical enterprise workloads.

Intel-Based Server Configurations

Configuration	Specifications	Benchmark
Core i7-6700K/7700 Server	64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB	CPU Benchmark: 8046
Core i7-8700 Server	64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2x1 TB	CPU Benchmark: 13124
Core i9-9900K Server	128 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 1 TB	CPU Benchmark: 49969
Core i9-13900 Server (64GB)	64 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
Core i9-13900 Server (128GB)	128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Server (64GB)	64 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Server (128GB)	128 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Workstation	64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2 NVMe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 4000

AMD-Based Server Configurations

Configuration	Specifications	Benchmark
Ryzen 5 3600 Server	64 GB RAM, 2x480 GB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 17849
Ryzen 7 7700 Server	64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2x1 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 35224
Ryzen 9 5950X Server	128 GB RAM, 2x4 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 46045
Ryzen 9 7950X Server	128 GB DDR5 ECC, 2x2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 63561
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/1TB)	128 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/2TB)	128 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/4TB)	128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/1TB)	256 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/4TB)	256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 9454P Server	256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe

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⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️