Lenovo last week announced a new ThinkEdge platform, based on Advanced Micro Device’s new edge-targeted AMD EPYC 8004-series processor. The company is also increasing its investment in delivering AI-enabled solutions to the edge, extending its popular TruScale “as-a-service” offerings to the intelligent edge.
Let’s look at what was announced.
New: Lenovo TruScale for Edge and AI
TruScale is Lenovo’s subscription-based service, providing customers with an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) solution for their IT platform needs. TruScale is designed to simplify the management and scalability of IT infrastructure, allowing organizations to access and utilize Lenovo’s hardware resources while paying for them on a flexible, as-you-go model.
The company is bringing its TruScale model to the edge by announcing its “TruScale for Edge and AI” offering, an infrastructure-as-a-service solution combining Lenovo hardware and software to enable businesses to deploy machine learning and AI models at the edge.
The new offering allows companies to adopt a pay-as-you-go approach to deploy edge computing infrastructure quickly and efficiently. It offers a wide range of AI solutions, providing a seamless end-to-end experience from deployment to management while offering flexible, scalable payment options. This makes it easier for businesses to leverage AI directly at the source of data creation. It’s an excellent solution that takes much of the cost and complexity out of delivering AI at the edge.
New: Lenovo ThinkEdge SE455 v3
Lenovo launched the ThinkEdge SE455 V3 last week, which Lenovo touts as the most powerful edge server available.
Performance at the Edge with new AMD EPYC 8004-series
At the heart of the ThinkEdge SE455 V3 is the just-announced AMD EPYC 8004 Series Processor, which combines performance and energy efficiency. Based on AMD’s Zen4c architecture, the processor offers 64 cores and is equipped with energy-efficient DDR5 memory. The box also supports PCIe Gen5 for demanding GPU and I/O solutions.
The highlight of the new processors is their ability for energy-efficient computing. The EPYC 8004 series utilizes the efficient “Zen 4c” core and a new SP6 socket with streamlined memory and I/O features, providing up to a 2x better SPECpower performance per system watt advantage than competitors in networking models.
The processors offer balanced performance and energy efficiency, making them suitable for space and infrastructure-constrained environments. For instance, in video encoding workloads, the EPYC 8534P processor delivers up to 2.4x the aggregate frames per hour per system watt compared to competitors.
In intelligent edge deployments, which often involve smaller server nodes, the AMD EPYC 8004 series processors provide significant energy cost savings over five years. The processors offer better core density and throughput, potentially saving customers thousands of dollars.
Optimized for Unique Challenges at the Edge
Lenovo takes a modular approach to edge computing with the SE455 V3, allowing customization based on specific needs. It offers a range of upgrade options and supports various operating systems.
The SE455 V3 can also be managed with the XClarity Controller BMC and Lenovo’s Open Cloud Automation solution, enabling remote deployment and management at scale.
The new offering arrives with several critical security features. It comes with the physical protection measures you need at remote edge environments, such as lockable covers and intrusion detection sensors.
There are also cybersecurity features, with the platform taking advantage of AMD’s Infinity Guard technology to protect data, encrypt virtual machines, and ensure secure boot. The system complies with NIST SP800-193 standards for platform firmware resilience.
The ThinkEdge SE455 V3 works well in harsh environments, arriving with a NEBS Level 3 certification to ensure it can operate even under extreme conditions. The platform features a dust filter, an air flow sensor, and supports a range of temperature environments.
The SE455 V3 with AMD EPYC 8004 Series Processors balances processing power, power consumption, and bandwidth for telco applications. It supports high operating temperatures and comes equipped with Gen5 PCIe slots for efficient data processing and security features.
Lenovo is telling a great story with its new ThinkEdge SE455 v3 based on the AMD EPYC 8004 processor. The new platform will offer unmatched performance for AI-driven edge applications.
Analysis
This set of announcements shows that Lenovo aims to take AI to the edge, where data is generated and often best analyzed. It’s doing this with a comprehensive portfolio of solutions and services enabling businesses to convert their data into actionable AI-powered insights. In fact, Lenovo has said it’s investing $100 million to expand and grow its AI innovators program, which has already delivered more than 150 cutting-edge AI solutions and over 70 AI-optimized platforms, all while attracting more than 45 ISV partners in its first year.
Beyond bringing new levels of performance to its ThinkEdge portfolio with the updated SE455, Lenovo is simplifying edge deployments with its expanded TruScale offering. The as-a-service platform offers IT organizations an agile and cost-effective approach to IT infrastructure management, simplifying the adoption and operation of technology for organizations of various sizes. Bringing it to the edge is a welcome expansion of its capabilities.
Servicing the needs of the intelligent edge market is a core strength of Lenovo. The company’s ThinkEdge portfolio is broad, giving Lenovo some of the most robust offerings in the space. In its most recent earnings, Lenovo disclosed that its ThinkEdge line has seen nine consecutive quarters of growth. TruScale is equally strategic to the company and is seeing solid success. In the same earnings, Lenovo told us that its “managed services,” which includes TruScale, grew 54% year-over-year.
Lenovo is building on its strengths. Extending TruScale to the edge is a strategic move that will yield substantial returns while its new ThinkEdge platform keeps it a step ahead of its competitors. Lenovo’s press release was short, but it contained a critical set of announcements that will only see Lenovo’s position at the edge, and within the enterprise, grow stronger.
