Cloudflare Gen 12 Server: bigger, better, cooler in a 2U1N form factor

What this post added

This post details the design decisions and technical considerations for Cloudflare's Gen 12 compute servers, focusing on the transition to a 2U form factor to accommodate higher TDP CPUs (up to 500W) and GPUs. It analyzes the thermal challenges posed by increasing CPU power draw, the limitations of the 1U form factor, and the performance and TCO benefits of a 2U design with larger fans and heatsinks. The post also discusses the evaluation of new AMD Genoa and Intel Sapphire Rapids chipsets and the impact of CPU TDP on rack-level TCO.