Alibaba Announces Open‑Source “Fangsheng” Project for Next‑Generation Cloud Server Architecture

Recently, at the ODCC 2019 Open Data Center Conference held at the Beijing International Convention Center, Alibaba server architect Guo Rui delivered a keynote titled “Open · Share · Co‑build China Cloud Server Ecosystem.” In his speech he announced Alibaba’s open‑source “Fangsheng” project, which opens Alibaba’s accumulated cloud data‑center server technology specifications to the industry and invites partners to jointly build an efficient, flexible standard for Chinese cloud data‑center infrastructure.

Guo Rui argued that the era of “All in Cloud” has arrived, driving rapid growth in China’s cloud computing market and demanding next‑generation, ultra‑large‑scale cloud infrastructure. He identified three key business characteristics of this new infrastructure: massive scale where even 1% optimization yields significant benefits, diverse customer requirements demanding flexible product forms, and fierce competition requiring technical innovation to deliver greater value.

Traditional general‑purpose server architectures, used for decades, cannot meet these demands. Increasing power consumption of CPUs, GPUs, NPUs, limited cooling capacity, inefficient power and I/O design, and poor reliability hinder performance. Moreover, many Chinese public‑cloud operators rely on both owned and leased data‑centers, where existing facilities limit density, cooling, and power, constraining cloud infrastructure deployment.

To better support cloud computing workloads, Alibaba innovatively proposes a fully optimized cloud server architecture named the “Fangsheng” project, featuring:

1. Front‑maintenance architecture : Evolving from rear‑exit to front‑exit design, facilitating easier front‑side maintenance, improving the maintenance environment, increasing efficiency, reducing fan power, and enhancing system cooling.

2. Modular design : Separating compute, storage, and acceleration hardware to enable independent evolution, improve development speed, and accelerate rapid product development and deployment.

3. Integrated rack design : Supporting both single‑node and whole‑rack delivery, compatible with owned and leased facilities, thereby boosting on‑site delivery efficiency and meeting flexible, fast‑deployment needs.

4. Improved power‑supply efficiency : By analyzing workloads of hundreds of thousands of Alibaba servers, the PSU efficiency curve was optimized, significantly enhancing overall power efficiency and reducing energy consumption.

To promote the common development of China’s public‑cloud industry and address shared challenges, Alibaba has open‑sourced the “Fangsheng” project, inviting partners such as China Mobile, Inspur, Foxconn, Quanta, Wistron, Tianhong, Hengyang Technology, Delta, Lite‑On, and Rihai to collaborate on building a high‑efficiency, flexible cloud infrastructure standard suitable for Chinese data‑centers. The project remains open for additional industry participants.