原创 Microsoft搭上ARM，Wintel成为历史了？

Microsoft公司要招聘高级软件开发工程师来协助开发Bing数据中心，该工程师职位要求最少5年经验、最好有第二学位，为Bing Autopilot团队工作，位于华盛顿的Bellevue。

Bing Autopilot硬件团队的工作内容包括，数据中心规划、SSD（固态驱动器）和 ARM 的硬件实验以及和联系供应商。ARM处理器通常被用作磁盘驱动器控制器，但这则招聘广告似乎暗示，也可以将ARM处理器用作主服务器，以节省能耗。

该职位软件开发工程师“可以自行决定采用什么硬件，”职位描述中指出，并补充说明，功率管理是工作的重心。这名工程师将负责“分析、监测、控制微软搜索数据中心的功率基础架构，特别针对通过将功率保持在最高临界水平（但不能超过额定功率）实现每个机房的机器数量的最大化”。

据报道，为了打造一款绿色数据中心，微软在2009年2月采用Atom微处理器进行了试验。当时讨论的一个问题是Atom处理器相比其它英特尔处理器表现不突出，使得任何省电的想法都因需要更多处理器来执行一个给定计算荷载而被否决。

微软在招聘广告中提到，Bing Autopilot 团队将设计并创建支持超过10万台服务器的软件基础架构，并为一系列在线应用提供核心平台服务。

博主点评：看来英特尔支持Android伤害了Microsoft 脆弱的心灵。

英文原文链接：http://advancedtrading.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224400808&cid=RSSfeed

Microsoft job ad hints at ARM-based servers
By Peter Clarke

Tags: Data Center, Microsoft, Bing, ARM, Software, Server, Power, Intel, Atom, Processor,
LONDON — Microsoft is looking for a senior software development engineer to help with its Bing data centers, potentially running them on ARM hardware.

The engineer, with at least five years experience — and preferably a second degree — will work for the Bing Autopilot Hardware team and be based in Bellevue, Washington.

The Autopilot hardware team is involved in data center planning, hardware experimentation including SSD [solid-state drives] and ARM and vendor relationships, amongst other things. ARM processors are often used as disk drive controllers, but this ad seems to imply an ARM processor could be used for the main server in an attempt to save power. It does not mention Intel.

Whoever gets the job "can own the decision on the hardware that we use," the job description said, and added that power management is a key aspect of the job. The engineer will be responsible for the "analysis, monitoring, control of the power infrastructure of the Microsoft Search Data Centers with specific goals to maximize the machines per colocation by keeping on the edge of the power envelope (but not exceeding rated power capacity)."

Microsoft was reportedly experimenting with the Intel Atom microprocessor in February 2009 with a view to creating a green data center. One issue discussed then was the Atom microprocessor lacked performance compared with other Intel processor and that therefore any power saving might be negated by the need for more processors to carry a given computational load.

The Bing Autopilot team designs and builds the software infrastructure that powers more than 100,000 servers and provides core platform services for a variety of online applications, Microsoft said in the job ad.