AMD Collaborates With Microsoft on Windows Server 2008

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced it has worked closely with Microsoft throughout the Windows Server® 2008 development process, to deliver the ultimate server solution. Through their strong partnership, both companies have optimized their respective hardware and software technologies to work together to address the demands of today’s global digital economy and meet the computing requirements of businesses of all sizes.

AMD Opteron™ processors were designed with 64-bit computing in mind and in combination with Windows Server 2008 they deliver a powerful platform for running business solutions that can maximize productivity and profitability. Customers using AMD Opteron processors, including Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors, and Windows Server 2008 can experience unparalleled performance, energy efficiency and investment protection, further pushing virtualization, web serving, and business intelligence capabilities into the mainstream.

“We congratulate Microsoft on the release of the next generation Windows Server operating system,” said Randy Allen, corporate vice president, Server and Workstation Division, AMD. “At AMD, we believe the ultimate server solution begins with the ultimate collaboration. Windows Server 2008 with Microsoft’s hypervisor-based server virtualization technology (Hyper-V) will leverage the industry-leading performance of the AMD Opteron processor to deliver the level of support needed to fuel tomorrow’s business innovation. Additionally, Microsoft and AMD’s robust product architectures allow customers to scale with ease, while providing unmatched performance, a reduced overall cost of ownership and a flexible infrastructure that can evolve as their organization grows.”

In 2002, AMD and Microsoft began a collaboration to bring the benefits of 64-bit computing to the x86 computing market. Today, this strong technology partnership continues and is driving innovations that are helping customers run more efficient and cost-effective businesses. Since AMD is a trusted technology partner to Microsoft, AMD technology-based platforms are used as development and test systems throughout Microsoft’s product development cycle. By leveraging the power of an AMD-Microsoft optimized solution such as Windows Server 2008, customers can take advantage of balanced, scalable solutions that are easy to manage and operate in today's demanding business environment.

“Our customers are excited about the vibrant ecosystem that has developed around Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008,” said Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft Corp. “The combined power of Windows Server 2008 and AMD Opteron processors will help customers achieve flexible, reliable and powerful technology solutions.”

AMD and Microsoft customer Nivio is an example of a growing, innovative start-up business that is leveraging the two companies’ technologies to deliver the desktop experience as a service to almost anyone with an Internet-enabled device, anywhere in the world.

“AMD and Microsoft technologies are very complementary and perfect for our environment,” said Nivio Founder and CEO Sachin Duggal. “The AMD Opteron processor offers innovations like HyperTransport™ technology which allow us to support an exceptional amount of users with optimal levels of performance and availability — all while keeping costs low for us. And we can deliver one of the world’s leading operating systems virtually to countless users worldwide, knowing that for our environment, the current and future versions of Microsoft Windows Server are ideal for their stability and ease of use.”

The benefits of Windows Server 2008 running on AMD Opteron processors include:

Cost-Effective Virtualization and Energy Efficiency
Customers are harnessing the power of virtualization as delivered by AMD Opteron processors and Windows Server 2008. The combined power of AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™) technology and Windows Server Hyper-V technologies form a strong solution to create an operationally efficient computing platform designed to maximize client and server resources, thereby helping customers realize better investment protection. Specifically on the hardware level, AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) technology improves efficiency by allowing customers to host more transactions and users per server with greater control and less overhead.

AMD and Microsoft are committed to leading the world to energy-efficient processing. Windows Server 2008 fully supports the Enhanced AMD PowerNow!™ technology of Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors, which along with innovations such as AMD CoolCore™ Technology and Dual Dynamic Power Management™, offer the ability to help reduce power and cooling requirements. Additionally, Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors can provide increased performance-per-watt efficiencies while maintaining the same power and thermal infrastructure as previous generations of AMD Opteron processors.

Versatile Web and Application Sharing and Capacity-Rich Business Intelligence
Scalability is often the hurdle to turning mountains of data into more insightful and valuable intelligence. The scalability and control of AMD Opteron processors and Windows Server 2008 help meet the challenging demands of running an “always on” online business. Customers can find a resource-smart infrastructure with AMD and Microsoft that will easily help scale to meet the ever-growing number of users and transactions in a business with a high level of availability. The superior manageability of the technologies helps businesses reduce total costs by maximizing staff resources and budget.

Additionally, an AMD Opteron processor-based server running Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server™ 2008 includes unique optimizations designed to increase throughput to deliver high speed and performance for memory- and data-intensive Business Intelligence applications. The joint solution offers large memory footprints and outstanding processing bandwidth, bringing Business Intelligence more mainstream, to enterprise and SMB customers alike.

For press resources including images and logos, please visit the press kit at http://www.amd.com/microsoft2008/presskit.

About AMD
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is a leading global provider of innovative processing solutions in the computing, graphics and consumer electronics markets. AMD is dedicated to driving open innovation, choice and industry growth by delivering superior customer-centric solutions that empower consumers and businesses worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.