Will the millions of Smart Meters that have a high percentage of ARM processors be the largest server count?
A server is a hw/sw system that provides services to clients that is expected to have high availability.
In computing, a server is any combination of hardware or software designed to provide services to clients. When used alone, the term typically refers to a computer which may be running a server operating system, but is also used to refer to any software or dedicated hardwarecapable of providing services.
I found information about the Smart Meter architecture which provides the services of a server.
Utility companies are starting to deploy electronic metering systems that capture and transmit usage information with the long-term goal to empower and educate users as to the real-time cost and impact of using an appliance at a particular moment in time.
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Optimized ARM Smart Meter Block Diagram
The ARM® design philosophy is centered on low power, energy efficient design and we have spent over 10 years supporting silicon companies that need to design platforms under stringent power dissipation requirements.
ARM processors are architected to minimize current draw, both when systems are fully operational and when they are inactive, providing incredibly power efficient processing for tethered applications. While important for mobile products like phones, this is incredibly important for meters which are expected to operate for periods up to 20 years on a single battery. The highly economical approach of the embedded processors can be coupled with ARM Physical IP power management kits, to reduce the power of the complete SoC. These kits incorporate an optimized set of physical IP libraries, memoriesand standard cells to further improve the useful workload/joule metric of the complete system.
When you look at ARM's definition of what is required for an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), it sounds like a web server solution.
For the vision of AMI infrastructure to be realized, the smart meter must:
- Communicate with other intelligent appliances inside the residence or enterprise. The strategy for providing this communication path varies from country to country and in some cases region to region. Zigbee has gained significant adoption in early trials. However, both WiFi and HomePlug offer benefits for certain deployments.
- Communicate information securely across the network to preserve sensitive user information.
- Incorporate enough latent horsepower to enable the delivery of future services without the need for a truck roll.
Actually when you look at what is defined by AMI you get this in Smartphone as well.
ARM servers are showing up as the always on devices providing services to clients.