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IBM introduces Telum II processor and Spyre accelerator for AI in mainframes

  • August 27, 2024
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IBM is launching a new processor and accelerator that will power the next generation of IBM Z mainframes to handle AI workloads. IBM is introducing its IBM Telum

IBM introduces Telum II processor and Spyre accelerator for AI in mainframes

IBM is launching a new processor and accelerator that will power the next generation of IBM Z mainframes to handle AI workloads.

IBM is introducing its IBM Telum II processor at Hot Chips, flanking it with the IBM Spyre Accelerator. Both chips are tailor-made for IBM’s own Z mainframes. IBM notes that LLMs are the Proof-of-ConceptGrowth and maturity phase. Companies that rely on a mainframe architecture can jump on the bandwagon with the right hardware.

5 nm and more cache

The focus of the announcement is the IBM Telum II processor. This follows the first Telum chip from 2021. Like its predecessor, Telum II has eight processing cores. The clock speed increases to 5.5 GHz and there is room for more cache: 32 MB L2 per core and 360 MB in total. While the first Telums were launched by Samsung in 2021 in the 7 nm band, IBM is making the leap to 5 nm for Telum II.

The processor has an integrated data processing chiplet (DPU) for I/O acceleration. The chip thus accelerates the complex storage and network protocols that only exist in the mainframe environment. The processor itself can also accelerate AI workloads. According to IBM, this is important for typical mainframe customers in the financial sector, who now use AI and analytics for the transactions that the mainframe processes.

Spyre

In addition to Telum II, IBM is announcing a second chip: the Spyre Accelerator. IBM has developed this chip for broader AI applications, although transaction analysis and fraud detection remain its primary purpose. Spyre is designed to support multiple AI models simultaneously and be able to handle up to 1 TB of memory.

IBM will integrate both Telum II and Spyre into its next generation of mainframes. Spyre will be an optional addition to these products. IBM aims to have UBM Z and IBM LinuxOne with the new chips available in 2025.

Source: IT Daily

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