Facebook unveils Big Basin, new server geared for deep learning ZDNet

Facebook on Wednesday unveiled Big Basin, its latest GPU server geared for deep learning. Like its predecessor Big Sur, its design will be open sourced through the Open Compute Project. Compared to Big Sur, the new server allows Facebook to train machine learning models that are 30 percent larger, thanks to two factors: an increase in memory from 12 GB to 16 GB, as well as the availability of greater arithmetic throughput. "Right now we use AI to recognize people and objects in photos," Kevin Lee, technical program manager for Facebook, explained to ZDNet ahead of the Open Compute Summit. "Chances are if you use Facebook, you're using AI models that have been trained with Big Sur."