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Intel Xeon

Intel Introduces New Family Of Xeon Processors

March 30, 2009 by Robin Wauters Leave a Comment

Intel Corporation introduced 17 processors today, led by the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series. They are Intel’s most revolutionary server processors since addressing the market with the Intel Pentium Pro processor almost 15 years ago.

The new enterprise-class chips can automatically adjust to specified energy usage levels, and speed data center transactions and customer database queries. They also will play a key role in scientific discoveries by researchers who use supercomputers as their foundation for research, all whilst delivering great energy efficiency for reduced electricity costs.

The Intel Xeon processor 5500 series, previously codenamed “Nehalem-EP,” offers severaltechnologies that radically improve system speed and versatility. Technologies such as Intel Turbo Boost Technology, Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, integrated power gates, and Next-Generation Intel Virtualization Technology (VT) improved through extended page tables, allow the system to adapt to a broad range of workloads.

As use of the Internet expands toward Intel’s vision of 15 billion connected devices, the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series will also power an upcoming transformation for the Internet’s infrastructure. The high-tech industry has rallied around a goal to run applications from optimized processors and computing hardware that are available on-demand and scalable to the masses. Often called cloud computing, this vision could flourish helped by the adaptability, capability and intelligence of the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series.

With over 30 new world records the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series establishes new standards for two-socket performance while delivering gains of more than double the previous- generation Intel Xeon processor 5400 series.

Whether businesses are running high-capacity transactions or simulations, or researchers are striving to discover new energy resources or distant galaxies, computers based on the adaptable Intel Xeon processor 5500 series will play a big impact. Equipped with triple the memory bandwidth of previous server processors, Intel Xeon processor 5500 series-based platforms effortlessly manage a variety of workloads and conditions. A new feature, Intel Turbo Boost Technology, increases system performance based on the user’s workload and environment, dynamically boosting the clock speed of one or more of the individual processing cores.

These and other more intelligent capabilities of the processors also maximize total cost of ownership for users interested in a smooth transition to the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series from their current systems. In this time of economic challenges, customers can replace older Intel Xeon servers with the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series and receive an estimated payback in as little as 8 months.

Intel is also announcing new server boards that offer a higher degree of integrated components. In addition, the company is announcing the Intel 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller, featuring advanced virtualization technology and unified networking support, which greatly improves network I/O performance in virtualized datacenters. It is optimized to support the increased bandwidth provided by platforms based on the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series, which provides more than 250 percent the I/O throughput of previous-generation servers to best meet the needs of the most demanding virtualization applications.

Also available today is the Intel Data Center Manager software development kit that enables management console vendors to extend platform power control and set rack and datacenter level power policies dynamically, responding to changing server workloads to ensure that racks do not exceed those power levels.

For server applications, processor frequencies peak at 2.93 GHz with DDR3 memory speeds up to 1333 MHz and power levels of from 60 to 95 watts. Under certain conditions, Intel Turbo Boost Technology can provide operating frequencies up to 3.33 GHz, depending on the processor and system configuration. Workstation frequencies go up to 3.20 GHz with power levels of 130 watts, and up to 3.46GHz using Intel Turbo Boost Technology depending on the workload and environment. Each processor contains up to 8MB of level 3 cache.

Starting today, more than 230 unique systems based on the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series are expected to be announced by more than 70 system manufacturers around the world – including a new Intel customer, Cisco, along with Dell, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Sun Microsystems and others.

The Intel Xeon processor 5500 series ranges in price from $188 to $1,600 in quantities of 1,000. The single-socket Intel Xeon processor 3500 series ranges from $284 to $999 in quantities of 1,000. The L5518 and L5508 embedded processors for communications market segments are priced at $530 and $423, respectively, in quantities of 1,000.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: intel, intel nehalem, intel nehalem-ep, intel premium pro, Intel Xeon, intel xeon processor, intel xeon processor 5500, intel xeon processor 5500 series, intel xeon processors, nehalem, nehalem-ep, virtualisation, virtualization

Xsigo Systems To Support New Intel Xeon Processor Family

March 30, 2009 by Robin Wauters Leave a Comment

Xsigo Systems today announced support for Intel’s next-generation Xeon processor family. The new Intel processors offer enhanced performance and throughput capabilities that are expected to increase the need for Xsigo virtual I/O as users migrate to high-density computing environments that demand greater I/O capabilities.

The new Xeon processors include architectural enhancements that increase both processing power and memory bandwidth. When users add workload to capitalize on these features, there is an elevated risk of I/O bottlenecks unless there is a commensurate increase in I/O capabilities. Xsigo virtual I/O eliminates I/O bottlenecks with dynamic bandwidth allocation that delivers performance on-demand to I/O connections over a high-speed 20Gbs fabric. Xsigo virtual I/O also incorporates quality of service features that reduce the risk of I/O resource contention, an issue that arises when multiple virtual machines compete for bandwidth on a single I/O link.

Increasing compute density frequently exacerbates I/O issues since high-density devices may lack the physical space to accommodate the needed I/O, particularly when blade systems or compact 1U or 2U servers are deployed. Xsigo virtual I/O eliminates this concern by providing up to 40Gbs of bandwidth to each I/O card or mezzanine card, or 2X to 40X the bandwidth density of conventional I/O.

Customers using Xsigo’s I/O virtualization products can reduce both the operational and capital costs associated with server I/O. Xsigo consolidates the I/O infrastructure and replaces physical network and storage interfaces (NICs and HBAs) with virtual resources that can be deployed on-the-fly. Compared with traditional server I/O, benefits of the Xsigo virtual I/O infrastructure include:

  • 100 times faster I/O configuration management
  • 30 percent less power consumption
  • 70 percent fewer I/O cards, cables, and switch ports
  • Predictable I/O bandwidth to applications via hardware-enforced QoS

This open standards-based solution, interoperable with servers and storage across most leading platforms, is designed to remove the constraints imposed by traditional I/O cards and cables that otherwise limit the flexibility to re-deploy assets. The result is a wire-once infrastructure where configuration changes are completed in minutes rather than days, are executed in software rather than hardware, and can be remotely managed. Eliminating the need to re-cable can help reduce operational costs and remove the risk of cabling errors that may cause unplanned downtime.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: intel, Intel Xeon, virtualisation, virtualization, Xeon, xeon processor, Xsigo, Xsigo Systems, xsigo virtual i/o

Hitachi Moves Forward With Virtage Embedded Virtualization

June 25, 2008 by Robin Wauters Leave a Comment

Hitachi yesterday announced that it would add Intel’s 9100 series Itanium chips to its high-end BladeSymphony 1000 systems, as well as its lower-end BladeSymphony 320 servers. Additionally, Hitachi will begin offering the latest dual-core Intel Xeon 5200 series processors along with Intel’s quad-core Xeon 5400 chips with both sets of BladeSymphony systems.

Hitachi is looking to leverage its legacy mainframe technology, especially virtualization, to offer an alternative in a crowded field that is full of systems aimed at data center consolidation projects.

Virtage

What Hitachi is offering is called Virtage, an embedded hardware virtualization technology that provides an abstraction layer that decouples the physical system from the operating system to provide utilization and additional flexibility. Since the virtualization is built into the hardware itself, it is more reliable and secure than virtualization based on a hypervisor, according to Hitachi.

Hitachi doesn’t have a lot of market share though. In the latest survey by IDC (confirmed by Gartner as well), HP was first in overall server revenue with more than $3.7 billion in global sales, and the company also controlled 46.9 percent of the worldwide $1.2 billion blade market during the first quarter of 2008.

Meanwhile, Hitachi did not finish in either the top five in the United States or in the worldwide market, where HP, IBM, Dell, Sun Microsystems and Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens all dominate.

[Source: eWeek]

Filed Under: News Tagged With: abstraction layer, BladeSymphony 1000, BladeSymphony 320, embedded virtualization, hardware virtulalization, Hitachi, Hitachi Data Systems, Hitachi Virtage, intel, Intel Xeon, virtage, virtualisation, virtualization

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