Scaling Success with Supermicro's H13 Servers

In this and some following articles, we will take a closer look at the new H13 product line from Supermicro. It delivers a particularly powerful and efficient solution for many application areas. It achieves this by using the latest technologies, such as.

• the AMD EPYC™ processors of the 4th generation,
• the AMD 3D V-Cache™,
• of support
  • for DDR5-4800MHz memory (incl. 12 channel DDR5 memory support) and
  • of the PCIe 5.0 standard.

In this article, we focus on the use of the H13 product line in data center applications.

What you can expect:

Background: The importance of data centers

The importance of data centers has risen sharply in recent years as more and more companies digitize their business models and more and more consumers rely on digital services. In view of this development, it is crucial that the infrastructure of a data center is state of the art. It must be able to efficiently process a wide range of tasks, from analyzing huge amounts of data to hosting cloud services and providing storage solutions.

The Supermicro H13 line of AMD EPYC™ 9004-series server processors is specifically designed to meet the needs of modern data centers. With their high core count, large memory capacity and fast communication paths, they are suitable for a wide range of applications and represent a significant advance in server technology. In this article, we will take a closer look at the H13 product line and examine its application in various data center areas.

The most important facts about the Supermicro H13 product line for AMD EPYC™ 9004 series server processors

• Powerful 4th generation AMD EPYC processors with up to 128 cores/ 256 threads (up from 64 cores/ 128 threads on the previous generation).
• Significantly more cache: Support for AMD 3D V-Cache™ technology increases the L3 cache up to 1,152 MB. This is a 50% increase per CPU compared to the previous generation AMD EPYC processors with AMD 3D V-Cache technology.
• Faster communication between CPU and other components: through support for PCIe 5.0, which is twice as fast as the previous generation of CPUs with PCIe 4.0.
• Increased addressable memory capacity of up to 6 TB DRAM per socket, thanks to the increased number of memory channels.
• Increased memory access bandwidth of up to 57,600 MT/s (megatransfers per second) per socket, a 125% improvement over the previous generation.
• Faster memory performance: Support for DDR5-4800MHz memory, which is 33% faster than previous generations.
• Faster communication between CPUs: through more and faster xGMI connections.
• AI Optimization: Support for AVX-512 instructions increases speed for AI calculations (previously only possible with 3rd/4th generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors).
• Increased data security: Security features such as "Security by Design" better protect data at all stages of processing.
• Higher energy efficiency: through EPYC 9004 CPUs, which require fewer servers to complete tasks compared to EPYC 7002/7003 CPUs.
• Connectivity to the latest technologies: including 128 PCIe5 lanes in 1-socket servers and up to 160 PCIe5 lanes in 2-socket servers. This enables the increasingly demanded integration and use of accelerators, GPUs, NVMe flash devices, FPGAs and high-performance LAN cards.

Why H13 systems are particularly suitable for data center applications

Supermicro's H13 server series is specifically designed for demanding data center applications. Starting with high-end computing performance - thanks to 4th generation AMD EPYC processors, the H13 series offers an exceptional core count that enables it to efficiently handle numerous parallel workloads. This is especially useful in environments like cloud computing and Big Data analytics, where the ability to handle high workloads is critical.

The large addressable memory capacity of up to 6TB DRAM per socket, enables the H13 servers to handle huge amounts of data, making them ideal for Big Data applications. The increased speed and support for DDR5-4800MHz memory (including 12 channel DDR5 memory support) significantly improve performance for data-intensive applications.

For cloud applications, PCIe 5.0's fast communications enable efficient scalability and flexibility. With twice the throughput of PCIe 4.0, resources can be provisioned and adapted more quickly to handle changing workloads. In addition, the increased xGMI interconnect speed improves communication between CPUs, which is important for applications that rely on distributed computing resources. Finally, security plays an important role in data centers. The H13 series offers state-of-the-art security features that help keep data safe, whether in use, in transit, or at rest.

Overall, Supermicro's H13 series technical advancements provide the performance, scalability and security required for modern data center applications.

Note on H13 vs. X13 systems: Whether H13 or X13 systems are the right choice for your data center is a complex decision. Feel free to contact our Custom Server Solutions team for the necessary individual advice. Here we can only say that Intel's Sapphire platform offers an impressive maximum core count of 480 cores/ 960 threads for the X13 systems with up to 8 CPU sockets. This surpasses AMD's offering of 128 cores/ 256 threads in the H13 lineup. However, it should be noted that this advantage comes into play in a very specialized high-end market segment that requires significant investment, rack space and other resources. For scientific applications in particular, where, for example, special Intel Fortran or C/C++ compilers from the Intel® Compiler Suite for Linux are available, 4th generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable for Supermicro X13 systems can often deliver better computing results because they are optimized directly for the Intel architecture. At the same time, a debugger optimized for the Intel compiler makes it easier to systematically analyze errors in your own programs.

Here you will find our article on the use of the X13 product line for data centers:
https://www.memorysolution.de/en/magazine/X13-by-Supermicro-Scalable-Efficient-Solutions

Which products in the line are particularly suitable for data center applications

H13 CloudDC systems
The CloudDC family is optimized for: Versatility, low cost and a small footprint. Tailored to the needs of cloud data centers. In addition, maintenance of the servers (hot-swapping) is possible without tools - and thus particularly fast and easy.

You can find more information here:
https://www.supermicro.com/datasheet/datasheet_H13_CloudDC.pdf

H13 GrandTwin systems
The GrandTwin systems are optimized for minimum space requirements and maximum energy efficiency thanks to their compact design with 4 nodes in 2U. They are also explicitly designed for applications that require many individual servers with high-speed connections for networked or clustered operations.

You can find more information here:
https://www.supermicro.com/datasheet/datasheet_H13_GrandTwin.pdf

Application scenario: Web and e-mail hoster

Let's take the example of a large web and email hoster that hosts its own servers and processes extensive amounts of transactional data there on a daily basis. They need sufficient and scalable storage as well as computing power to adapt their services to varying levels of traffic. They also, of course, need to ensure that their systems are always available and powerful.

Supermicro's H13 series would be particularly well suited in this scenario. Let's say you decide on the H13 CloudDC systems described above: both single-socket 1U and 2U versions.

Why the H13 CloudDC systems are particularly suitable
The high core count with the extremely powerful AMD EPYC processors of the 4th generation enable the processing of large amounts of data in a shorter time. They are therefore also prepared for particularly demanding times and customers. The tool-less design also enables rapid deployment, easy maintenance and scaling of the systems. In addition, the addressable memory of up to 3 TB with 12 DDR-4800 DIMMs provides just the right balance of CPU to memory for their services.

So, in this scenario, the Supermicro solution provides exactly the performance and scalability required, which are essential for a modern, data-centric enterprise.

Conclusion: Efficiency and performance for data centers

In summary, Supermicro's H13 server series is a significant technological innovation that greatly enhances the efficiency and performance of data center applications. With outstanding features such as huge core count, extensive addressable memory capacity, support for DDR5-4800MHz memory, and fast communication through PCIe 5.0, the H13 series meets the needs of demanding applications such as cloud computing, Big Data analytics, and hyper-converged storage.

In addition, the H13 series offers state-of-the-art security features that help ensure data is safe in any state. As a result, the H13 series offers not only a powerful solution for modern data centers, but also a secure one.

In conclusion, with the H13 series, Supermicro has taken a significant step towards future-proofing high-performance and secure server technology that is prepared for the increasing demands of modern data centers. Whether you are running AI and ML applications, analyzing Big Data, or deploying cloud services, Supermicro's H13 series provides the technology to handle these tasks efficiently and effectively.

Choosing the right server for your use case is a complex matter. Therefore, our Custom Server Solutions team is always available to answer your questions. Together we will find the ideal server for your respective application scenario with the desired performance and/or packing density at the lowest possible power consumption and investment costs!

You can also find more information on Supermicro's H13 series website.