AMD Launches EPYC Embedded 3000 & Ryzen Embedded V1000 Series

[shmerl]

So the bug is rather random it would seem.
Had Ryzen since launch, Never had that problem TBH.

Yes, it is random. I.e. not every chip in the production is affected. But some are. And symptoms are consistent in such case.

[torsionbar28]

Yes, it is random. I.e. not every chip in the production is affected. But some are. And symptoms are consistent in such case.

In other words, this is what warranty and RMA is for. Nothing to see here.

[starshipeleven]

I want to know:

Can we please stop asking the same thing over and over? By 2018 we should all perfectly know what this is.

It's called Platfrom Security Processor, it's an ARM processor locked in TrustZone mode, embedded in the CPU package, it can theoretically do whatever it wants without the x86 processor knowing, just like the ME, none has any kind of access to the source, there is no chance in hell that AMD will release any source because it was licensed from third parties and the whole point of these things anyway is looking "secure" and dumbfucks this stuff is targeted at (companies mostly) think that something opensource is easier to crack (which is true to an extent).

AMD said they would have third parties do security audits on that stuff, but that's not much comfort.

[numacross]

[*]Is the source code and tool chain available for this secure processor?

No. What is more it's based on ARM's TrustZone which potentially makes it even harder to open.

[*]What features does this processor have? In particular, can it interface with networking hardware without the host OS knowing?

Uninhibited control over RAM allows it to do whatever it wants. It's sitting on the same die as the PCI-e controller/root hub as well. I haven't seen any information whether it has an equivalent to the out-of-band connection between Intel ME and an Intel NIC.

[*]Presumably user-land or at least kernel-level code can interact with this co-processor: how well has it been audited to ensure it can't be accessed and controlled by a malicious third party?

In-house vendor validation as far as we know.

Until these questions have been asked positively, I will look sceptically upon this, otherwise incredible, hardware that both AMD and Intel are producing.

I'd love for AMD (or Intel) to take a risk and produce just 1 privacy, freedom and security focused, modern CPU. I'd buy it and encourage every soul I met to do the same to help make it a commercial success and signal to the market that we really want this stuff.

That's not going to happen because reasons

There is a possible alternative in the form of TALOS workstation since they have all their code here: https://git.raptorcs.com/git/ It is however very expensive in relative performance-to-price when compared to mainstream architectures.

[hiryu]

Just the other day I was whining that AMD didn't have anything for the same niche as the Xeon-D, and now we have EPYC 3000... I should whine about more things.

Anyway, in the linked article, there's not a whole lot of info, but I found this article with more info:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davealtavilla/2018/02/21/amd-unveils-ryzen-embedded-v1000-and-epyc-embedded-3000-processors/#687a3d2f51eb

The TDP is a bit higher than I'd like for the higher end models, but, going by memory, these are more or less inline with what we're seeing with Intel's newer Xeon-D's.

Intel's new Xeon D line which just recently launched or is about to launch are too recent to have a fix for meltdown... With EPYC 3000, I get to sidestep meltdown entirely, and I get to give AMD my money instead of Intel.

I'm also rather excited about SEV.

This is looking like an insta-buy for me once I can determine which model makes the most sense for me in terms thread count vs power consumption. I want something comparable to my current 16 thread Xeon D system without making my high power bill even higher. :/

Anyway, the embedded Ryzen V1000 stuff might make sense as replacements for some of my Avaton systems with the lower TDP. I'll probably still get a big boost in performance too.

[shmerl]

In other words, this is what warranty and RMA is for

It isn't, because RMA doesn't guarantee to catch that bug.

[cybertraveler]

Can we please stop asking the same thing over and over? By 2018 we should all perfectly know what this is.

It's important. I'm gonna keep raising it.

Also: lots of people still don't know about this security issue.

[pal666]

A listed feature of both the EPYC and the Ryzen, from the linked article:


That was the first thing I checked for. It's the first thing I check for on every new CPU I look into.

I want to know:

• Is the source code and tool chain available for this secure processor?
  • If yes, can we compile the code ourselves and have our processor run our personally compiled version?
  • Can we modify this code and run the modified version?
  • (so pretty much the 4 essentials freedoms)
• What features does this processor have? In particular, can it interface with networking hardware without the host OS knowing?
• Presumably user-land or at least kernel-level code can interact with this co-processor: how well has it been audited to ensure it can't be accessed and controlled by a malicious third party?

your keyboard and your hdd have embedded cpus. did you ask these silly questions about those cpus? why not?

[audi.rs4]

A listed feature of both the EPYC and the Ryzen, from the linked article:


That was the first thing I checked for. It's the first thing I check for on every new CPU I look into.

I want to know:

• Is the source code and tool chain available for this secure processor?
  • If yes, can we compile the code ourselves and have our processor run our personally compiled version?
  • Can we modify this code and run the modified version?
  • (so pretty much the 4 essentials freedoms)
• What features does this processor have? In particular, can it interface with networking hardware without the host OS knowing?
• Presumably user-land or at least kernel-level code can interact with this co-processor: how well has it been audited to ensure it can't be accessed and controlled by a malicious third party?

Until these questions have been asked positively, I will look sceptically upon this, otherwise incredible, hardware that both AMD and Intel are producing.

I'd love for AMD (or Intel) to take a risk and produce just 1 privacy, freedom and security focused, modern CPU. I'd buy it and encourage every soul I met to do the same to help make it a commercial success and signal to the market that we really want this stuff.

I am very curious to know what hardware you are running in your devices, if you don't run AMD or Intel. What about your phone? Thermostat? TV? Set top box?

[pete910]

In other words, this is what warranty and RMA is for. Nothing to see here.

Basically, Personally built 3 systems that don't have the problem so rare too by the looks of it.