Advancing vRAN Economics with AMD EPYC™ 8005 Server CPUs

Introduction

As mobile networks move toward open and virtualized architectures, many operators are discovering that the biggest challenges are no longer about technology readiness. They are about economics, resource utilization in constrained environments, automation, and long-term scalability.

vRAN has proven its value in flexibility and supplier diversity. But as deployments expand beyond trials and into commercial scale, leaders are confronting new realities: rising energy costs, cloud-native deployments, and the complexity of operating highly distributed infrastructure with consistent performance.

For operators, the focus has shifted. The question is no longer why vRAN, but how to make vRAN sustainable and cost effective at scale.

Why Compute Has Become a Strategic Lever

Leadership performance per watt and per dollar.

Traditional RAN deployments depend on customized systems and specialized silicon. vRAN opens the radio access network to general-purpose server compute, giving operators a new path to scale capacity with greater flexibility and improved economics.

Server platforms directly impact total cost of ownership across thousands of sites, energy consumption and sustainability outcomes, speed of deployment, and the ability to evolve architectures over time. As software-based implementations mature, general-purpose compute increasingly underpins vRAN performance—elevating the importance of performance per watt and per dollar, rather than peak capability alone.

Small inefficiencies at the node level can compound quickly at scale. That’s why operators are increasingly evaluating single-socket CPU deployments that can deliver the required performance with low power draw and with computing flexibility.

AMD EPYC 8005 Server CPUs (codenamed “Sorano”) are designed for challenging edge environments—delivering leadership performance per watt and per dollar, while enabling up to 84-core single-socket deployments optimized for telecommunications. With high compute density in up to a 225W power envelope, AMD EPYC 8005 Server CPUs support the performance requirements of vRAN workloads, including compute-intensive L1 processing.

Aligning Infrastructure with Business Priorities

Where space and power are at a premium.

Scaling commercial vRAN requires infrastructure that balances performance, cost, and flexibility. This is especially critical in power- and space-constrained environments, from outdoor cell sites to dense edge locations.

As a result, energy efficiency and performance determinism are becoming central to infrastructure decisions.

AMD EPYC 8005 Server CPUs are designed with these priorities in mind:

• Wide thermal operating ranges to support broad environmental requirements
• Enables NEBS-compliant platforms for rugged and outdoor telco deployments
• High core counts per socket enabling small form factors

AMD EPYC 8005 Server CPUs deliver high performance at low power, supporting dense deployments where energy budgets are fixed but performance demands continue to rise.

Driving Higher vRAN Throughput

To further advance Layer 1 performance in vRAN deployments, AMD has introduced targeted LDPC (Low-Density Parity Check) decoding optimizations in AMD EPYC 8005 Server CPUs. These enhancements help reduce latency and accelerate forward-error-correction processing for 5G workloads—an essential contributor to overall vRAN throughput.

Leveraging the AMD “Zen 5” execution pipeline, enhanced vector units, and tuned memory access, these optimizations are designed to improve LDPC efficiency while preserving deterministic vRAN behavior—driving higher uplink throughput and added headroom for Massive MIMO deployments.

By handling LDPC decoding more efficiently, AMD EPYC 8005 Server CPUs also free compute resources for additional Layer 1 and Layer 2 processing, helping operators support more functions per server and further improve overall RAN economics.

Supporting the Next Phase of Open and Virtualized RAN

Across the telecom ecosystem, operators, vendors, and platform partners are aligning around a shared objective: networks that are open, efficient, and resilient—without compromising on economic viability.

“Cloud-native RAN places new demands on compute platforms, particularly around determinism, efficiency, and integration flexibility. Collaboration across the ecosystem, including with AMD, is key to supporting operators as these architectures mature.”   ~ Michael Begley, Head of RAN Compute & Platform, Network, Ericsson

“By integrating AMD latest processor with Samsung's commercially-proven vRAN software, we are breaking new ground in network efficiency. This synergy allows us to deliver a highly versatile vRAN solution with diverse computing options, empowering operators to deploy cloud-native, fully software-driven networks with validated telco-grade performance."  ~ Keunchul Hwang, Executive Vice President, Head of Technology Strategy Group, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics

“Supermicro’s AMD edge server AS-1115S-fwtrt optimized with vRAN take full advantage of AMD latest EPYC 8005 Server CPUs. The combination enables dense and energy-efficient design that’s ideal for Enterprise private networks and mobile operators worldwide.”  ~ Mory Lin, Vice President, IoT/Embedded & Edge Computing

“Operators are under pressure to scale Open RAN and edge AI while maintaining strict control over cost, power, and operational complexity. The combination of Wind River Cloud Platform—proven in large-scale, live 5G deployments—and AMD ‘Sorano’ processors provides a production-ready foundation that helps customers accelerate deployment, improve efficiency, and achieve sustainable business outcomes.”  ~ Paul Miller, CTO, Wind River

As vRAN moves into its next phase of commercial adoption, success will depend on infrastructure choices that balance innovation with operational rigor. Compute platforms play a central role in that balance.

AMD continues to work with operators, OEMs, and ecosystem partners to support open and virtualized RAN strategies designed not just for near-term deployment, but for long-term sustainability and growth.

Together, we advance open and virtualized networks.

As open and virtualized networks scale, success will depend on infrastructure choices that balance innovation with operational rigor.

With AMD EPYC™ 8005 Server CPUs, operators can unlock big performance in a small footprint—delivering leadership performance per watt and driving reduced total cost of ownership and confident x86 modernization across vRAN environments.

Explore how AMD supports open and virtualized RAN deployments
👉 amd.com/telco