Chinese chipmaker Zhaoxin has announced that its server processor, the KaiSheng KH-50000, has completed full compatibility certification with CUOS, the cloud operating system run by China Unicom[1]. Zhaoxin also joined an industry alliance chaired by China Unicom. By tightly linking a domestic CPU with a major carrier's cloud platform, the move marks a step forward in China's push to build computing infrastructure it can control on its own.
Full Certification with China Unicom and Alliance Membership
Zhaoxin and China Unicom agreed on a series of strategic collaborations centered on building independently controllable IT infrastructure[1]. At the heart of the effort is the full compatibility certification between Zhaoxin's KH-50000 server processor and platform and China Unicom's cloud operating system, CUOS.
The two companies carried out all-dimension compatibility testing and joint certification, confirming that server products on the KH-50000 platform run stably and deliver strong performance in the CUOS environment[1]. Specifically, they say they achieved deep compatibility and coordinated optimization across key layers including low-level hardware adaptation, system kernel tuning, virtualization support, and security module integration. The goal is to provide a highly reliable, fully self-controlled computing foundation for core workloads such as cloud computing, big data, and AI computing.
Zhaoxin also formally joined the China Cybersecurity Industry Innovation Development Alliance, where China Unicom serves as the chairing organization[1]. With this, the partnership moves up a level, from product-by-product compatibility to the joint construction of an ecosystem that looks across the entire supply chain.
What the KH-50000 Server CPU Is
The KH-50000 is a new-generation server processor from Zhaoxin. It uses a chiplet design that combines several smaller dies, made up of 12 compute dies and one I/O die[2]. It comes in configurations of up to 96 cores and 72 cores; the 96-core version runs at a 2.2 GHz base and up to 3.0 GHz, while the 72-core version runs at a 2.6 GHz base and up to 3.0 GHz[3]. The shared L3 cache reaches up to 384 MB.
For memory, it supports 12-channel DDR5-5200 with ECC, holding up to 3 TB per socket[2]. It is also highly expandable, offering 128 lanes of PCIe 5.0 (with CXL and the proprietary ZPI link) plus 16 lanes of PCIe 4.0 and more[3]. It supports dual- and quad-socket configurations, and with the proprietary ZPI 5.0 interconnect, a single server can bundle up to 384 cores. In performance terms, it is positioned as a product aimed at competing with AMD's EPYC server CPUs[2].
Underpinning it is the intellectual property system Zhaoxin independently built around its ZX86 instruction set[1]. Keeping compatibility with mainstream x86 software while holding design control in-house is what makes it attractive for use cases that prioritize a self-controlled foundation.
Built Around Self-Reliance and Security
What Zhaoxin foregrounds in this collaboration is security and independence. The KH-50000 is said to have strengths in security design, trusted computing, and accelerating China's national cryptographic (SM) algorithms[1]. Zhaoxin says it will use these to provide integrated, native security capabilities that combine chip and system.
Going forward, the two companies plan to focus on key sectors such as government, finance, telecom, energy, and education, deepening their work on domestically grounded clouds, AI computing centers, edge computing, and industry digitalization[1]. Whether infrastructure can be assembled without relying on foreign semiconductors and software is an important issue for China's government agencies and critical infrastructure, and the certification-level link between a domestic CPU and a major telecom carrier's cloud is no small matter.
Summary
Zhaoxin's KH-50000 server CPU completed full compatibility certification with China Unicom's CUOS cloud OS, and Zhaoxin joined the China Unicom-led industry alliance. The KH-50000 is a self-developed server CPU with a chiplet design of up to 96 cores, 12-channel DDR5, and 128 lanes of PCIe 5.0, built on the proprietary ZX86 instruction set. With features such as support for national cryptographic algorithms, it puts security and self-reliance front and center, making this a collaboration that symbolizes China's drive to build computing infrastructure it can control on its own.
出典:https://www.zhaoxin.com/news_view.aspx?nid=2&typeid=289&id=2046
