China-based Internet service providers Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent have cooperated with Intel on Project Scorpio, aiming to develop industry-standard hardware specifications for China's data centers. This signifies China's goals of establishing its own server supply chain mainly for cloud computing applications, according to Taiwan-based server makers.
Project Scorpio is similar to Facebook's Open Compute Project and focuses on modular designs consisting of racks, networking, power supplies, servers, heat dissipation solutions and centralized management modules, the sources said. A rack module, for example, can house up to 120 servers, the sources indicated. The project has progressed to the development of third-generation architecture, the sources noted.
The project emphasizes in-house design, with hardware production to be outsourced to ODMs including those in Taiwan, the sources indicated. Several Taiwan-based server ODMs, including Quanta Computer, Inventec, Mitac International, Foxconn Electronics and Gigabyte Technology, have begun tapping the China market, the sources said.
Article translated by Adam Hwang
