ThunderX2
ThunderX2
Developer	Cavium
Manufacturer	TSMC
Type	Microprocessors
Introduction	May 30, 2016 (announced) May 7, 2018 (launch)
ISA	ARMv8.1
µarch	ThunderX2, Vulcan
Word size	64 bit 8 octets 16 nibbles
Process	14 nm 0.014 μm 1.4e-5 mm , 16 nm 0.016 μm 1.6e-5 mm
Technology	CMOS
Clock	2,500 MHz-1,600 MHz
Succession
←
ThunderX

ThunderX2 is a family of 64-bit multi-core ARM server microprocessors introduced by Cavium in early 2018 succeeding the original ThunderX line.

Overview

The ThunderX2 was designed to succeed the original ThunderX family. Cavium first announced the ThunderX2 back in May 30 2016 with models based on their own second-generation microarchitecture with models up to 54 cores. Cavium focused the ThunderX design on the networking space as the Octeon TX family, and in late 2016 they acquired the Vulcan design from Broadcom which has designed a server microprocessor but has given up on the project for reasons not well understood. In early 2018, Cavium announced that their ThunderX2 processors (now based on Vulcan) have reached general availability.

Models

CN99xx

See also: Vulcan microarchitecture

The first parts of the ThunderX2 family, CN99xx series, that made it to general availability are based on the Vulcan microarchitecture. Those parts are different from Cavium's original ThunderX2 design which started sampling in 2016. Originally designed by Broadcom, those parts have much higher performance and a slightly different set of features. All parts have the following features in common.

• Mem: Up to 2 TiB of quad/hexa/octa- channel DDR4 2666 MT/s memory
  • Up to 4 TiB in dual-socket configuration
• ISA: ARMv8.1, 128-bit NEON SIMD
• I/O: x48, x56 PCIe Gen 3 Lanes
• Only the 64-bit AArch64 execution state is support. No 32-bit AArch32 support.

	List of Vulcan-based Processors
	Main processor
Model	Launched	Cores	Threads	Frequency	PCIe Lanes
CN9960	7 May 2018	16	64	1.6 GHz 1,600 MHz 1,600,000 kHz , 1.8 GHz 1,800 MHz 1,800,000 kHz , 2 GHz 2,000 MHz 2,000,000 kHz , 2.2 GHz 2,200 MHz 2,200,000 kHz
CN9965	7 May 2018	20	40	1.8 GHz 1,800 MHz 1,800,000 kHz , 2 GHz 2,000 MHz 2,000,000 kHz , 2.1 GHz 2,100 MHz 2,100,000 kHz , 2.2 GHz 2,200 MHz 2,200,000 kHz , 2.3 GHz 2,300 MHz 2,300,000 kHz , 2.4 GHz 2,400 MHz 2,400,000 kHz , 2.5 GHz 2,500 MHz 2,500,000 kHz
CN9970	7 May 2018	24	96	1.8 GHz 1,800 MHz 1,800,000 kHz , 2 GHz 2,000 MHz 2,000,000 kHz , 2.1 GHz 2,100 MHz 2,100,000 kHz , 2.2 GHz 2,200 MHz 2,200,000 kHz , 2.3 GHz 2,300 MHz 2,300,000 kHz , 2.4 GHz 2,400 MHz 2,400,000 kHz , 2.5 GHz 2,500 MHz 2,500,000 kHz
CN9975	7 May 2018	28	112	1.8 GHz 1,800 MHz 1,800,000 kHz , 2 GHz 2,000 MHz 2,000,000 kHz , 2.1 GHz 2,100 MHz 2,100,000 kHz , 2.2 GHz 2,200 MHz 2,200,000 kHz , 2.3 GHz 2,300 MHz 2,300,000 kHz , 2.4 GHz 2,400 MHz 2,400,000 kHz
CN9978	7 May 2018	30	120	1.8 GHz 1,800 MHz 1,800,000 kHz , 2 GHz 2,000 MHz 2,000,000 kHz , 2.1 GHz 2,100 MHz 2,100,000 kHz , 2.2 GHz 2,200 MHz 2,200,000 kHz , 2.3 GHz 2,300 MHz 2,300,000 kHz
CN9980	7 May 2018	32	128	2 GHz 2,000 MHz 2,000,000 kHz , 2.1 GHz 2,100 MHz 2,100,000 kHz , 2.2 GHz 2,200 MHz 2,200,000 kHz , 2.3 GHz 2,300 MHz 2,300,000 kHz , 2.4 GHz 2,400 MHz 2,400,000 kHz , 2.5 GHz 2,500 MHz 2,500,000 kHz
Count: 6

See also

• Marvell ThunderX2 Arm Processors
• Marvell ThunderX2 CN99XX PMU Events (Abridged)
• Qualcomm's Centriq
• Intel's Xeon Platinum, Gold, and Silver