Platform used to analyse World Cup social media traffic

For the test project, Orange sought low latency, energy-efficient and computationally dense systems in which IDT were able to supply. Running on the Data Center Compute and Networking (DCCN) motherboards developed by Prodrive Technologies, the analytics were deployed on IDT’s RapidIO-connected x86 cluster. Alongside 20Gbps of bandwidth per link, the RapidIO switches offer 100ns cut-through latency, robust fault tolerance and hot-swap support, built-in reliable transmission and non-blocking switch performance. 

With the ability to deliver 300Gbps of aggregate interconnect bandwidth in each DCCN board and cluster up to four Intel I7 processors, the platform is suitable for the application as it provides low latency coupled with high compute density and low-power targets. According to IDT, at 300mW per 10Gbps of data, RapidIO also provides the lowest power-to-performance ratio compared to other interconnects. 

While consuming only 2W at 20Gbps, the RapidIO-to-PCIe bridge provides connectivity to the PCIe-based network interface controller's functionality. This allows for high-density solutions within the DCCN platform using x86-based daughtercards. As well as being scaled up to 64K processing and endpoint nodes, RapidIO-compliant systems can also be aggregated with 10Gb Ethernet interfacing. 

“Our mandate is to push the limits of existing technology and discover which potential breakthroughs in network deployment are feasible,” said Jérome Laudouar, Infrastructure Technologies and Engineering Director, Orange. “By using IDT’s RapidIO network, we were able to prove the viability of deploying embedded interconnect technology for massive, real-time data analysis—not just in wireless-server co-location, but also in other high-performance computing and data analytics applications.” 

“IDT’s RapidIO interconnected processing cluster proved to be a compelling solution for Orange Silicon Valley’s ambitious data analysis project,” said Sean Fan, IDT’s Vice President and General Manager, Interface & Connectivity Division. “We will continue to deliver innovative interconnect technologies to address the growing challenges of data moving through wires and the air in this era of big data.”