Vendor Spotlight:

INTEL PRODUCES MORE MUSCULAR XEON MP

Available at speeds of 3 GHz with up to 4MB of integrated L3 cache, Intel Xeon processor MP based servers deliver productivity, scalability, dependability & excellent price/performance for a broad range of mid-tier enterprise applications.

Intel Xeon processor MP features the Intel NetBurst microarchitecture, Hyper- Threading Technology and an Integrated Three-Level Cache architecture to mid- range and high-end server platforms that support four or more processors in multiprocessor configurations.

The Intel NetBurst microarchitecture provides support for MP speeds up to 3 GHz and offers a 400 MHz system bus for outstanding throughput and scalability for multiprocessor platforms and multi-threaded server applications. Hyper- Threading Technology improves processor efficiency by supporting multiple software threads on each processor in the system, thereby improving performance on threaded server applications. The unique integrated Three-Level Cache architecture provides up to 4MB of Level 3 cache and provides greater throughput to memory for greater performance on large server workloads. Intel Xeon processor MP based platforms are ideal for mid-range enterprise server workloads that are compute- or transaction-intensive, and demand the stability and versatility of the Intel architecture.

Features Benefits

• Supports Multiprocessor Server designs with 4 or more processors.
• Performance and scalability to support larger server workloads and business growth.
• Speeds available at 1.50, 1.90, 2, 2.20, 2.50, 2.70, 2.80, and 3 GHz.
• Faster raw execution resulting in higher transaction rates and faster response times.
• Intel NetBurst Microarchitecture with 400 MHz system bus.
• Higher throughput within the processor and out to memory and I/O for improved headroom.
• Hyper-Threading Technology: Hardware support for multi-threaded server applications Improved performance on threaded server applications provides support for more users or faster response times.
• Integrated Level 3 Cache in 4MB, 2MB or 1MB options.
• Increases throughput for large server workloads.
• Streaming SIMD Extensions 2.
• 144 new instructions improve response times for media servers and secure transactions.
• Compatible with 3rd party chipsets that provide DDR memory and PCI-X I/O capabilities.
• Balanced platform bandwidth offering greater system level throughput for enterprise server workloads.
• Compatible with existing Intel Architecture-based software. Today's server applications can realize immediate benefits.

Intel NetBurst Microarchitecture

The Intel NetBurst Microarchitecture is binary compatible with previous generation Intel Architecture (IA-32) processors. It adds new features beginning with innovative techniques that enhance processor execution such as Higher Core Frequencies, a Rapid Execution Engine, and Advanced Dynamic Execution. The pipeline depth in the processor is doubled, allowing the processor to reach much higher core frequencies. The Rapid Execution Engine allows the two integer ALUs in the processor to run at twice the core frequency, which allows many integer instructions to execute in one half of the internal core clock cycle. The Advanced Dynamic Execution improves speculative execution and branch prediction internal to the processor.

Hyper-Threading Technology Going beyond GHz

Intel is changing the landscape of processor design and performance by supporting multiple software threads on each processor in the system. Hyper- Threading Technology is a groundbreaking technology that will enable new capabilities and applications for the evolving internet and enterprise infrastructure. Hyper-Threading Technology allows your multi-threaded server applications to execute more than one thread per physical processor, increasing the throughput of your server applications and enabling you to scale with processor requirements to handle future workloads. This technology provides tangible benefits for today's server applications by: Increasing the number of transactions that can be processed for the enterprise Enabling support for more users improving business productivity Providing faster response time for websites and e-Business applications therefore enhancing your customer's experience

For additional information, visit Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology website.

400 MHz System Bus

The 400 MHz system bus is a quad-pumped bus running off of a 100 MHz system bus clock, making 3.2 Gigabytes per second (3,200 Megabytes per second) data transfer rates possible. The system bus is designed to increase the throughput of multiprocessing or multithreaded server applications and to provide the necessary bandwidth for Hyper-Threading Technology when accessing memory and I/O.

Level 1 Execution Trace Cache

In addition to the 8KB Level 1 Data cache, the Intel Xeon processor MP includes an Execution Trace Cache that stores up to 12K of decoded micro-ops instructions in the order of program execution. This increases performance by removing the decoder from the main execution loop and makes more efficient usage of the cache storage space since instructions that are branched around are not stored. The result is a means to deliver a high volume of instructions to the processor's execution units and a reduction in the overall time required to recover from branches that have been mis- predicted.

Level 2 Advanced Transfer Cache

The 512KB L2 Advanced Transfer Cache (ATC) delivers a much higher data throughput channel between the Level 2 Cache and the processor core. The Advanced Transfer Cache consists of a 256-bit (32- byte) interface that transfers data on each core clock. As a result, the Intel Xeon processor MP can deliver a data transfer rate of core speed multiplied by 32 bytes, reported in GBs which is nearly 2X the transfer rate of the Intel Pentium III Xeon processor's L2 cache. This contributes to the Intel Xeon processor MP's ability to keep the high-frequency execution units executing instructions vs. sitting idle.

Integrated Level 3 Cache (4MB, 2MB, or 1MB)

The Intel Xeon processor MP includes an additional third level of cache, located on the processor die, designed specifically to meet the compute needs of enterprise server applications. The Integrated Level 3 Cache is available in 4MB, 2MB or 1MB options and is coupled with the 400 MHz system bus to provide a high bandwidth path to memory. The efficient design of the Integrated Level 3 cache provides a faster path to large data sets stored in cache on the processor. This results in reduced average memory latency and increased throughput for larger server workloads.

Higher Core Frequencies

Higher core frequencies are capable through the Intel NetBurst microarchitecture which doubles the pipeline depth compared to the P6 microarchitecture used on Intel Pentium III Xeon processors. One of the key pipelines, the branch prediction / recovery pipeline, is implemented in 20 stages in the Intel NetBurst microarchitecture, compared to 10 stages in the P6 microarchitecture. This technology significantly increases the performance, frequency, and scalability of the processor.

Rapid Execution Engine

Two Arithmetic Logic Units (ALUs) on the Intel Xeon processor MP are clocked at twice the core processor frequency. This allows basic integer instructions such as Add, Subtract, Logical AND, Logical OR, etc. to execute in ½ a clock cycle. For example, the Rapid Execution Engine on a 3 GHz Intel Xeon processor MP runs at 6 GHz.

Advanced Dynamic Execution

The Advance Dynamic Execution engine is a very deep, out-of-order speculative execution engine that keeps the execution units executing instructions. The Intel Xeon processor MP can also view 126 instructions in flight and handle up to 48 loads and 24 stores in the pipeline. It also includes an enhanced branch prediction algorithm that has the net effect of reducing the number of branch mis-predictions by about 33% over the P6 generation processor's branch prediction capability. It does this by implementing a 4KB branch target buffer that stores more detail on the history of past branches, as well as by implementing a more advanced branch prediction algorithm.

Enhanced Floating-point and Multi-media Unit

The Intel Xeon processor MP expands the floating-point registers to a full 128-bit and adds an additional register for data movement which improves performance on both floating-point and multi-media applications.

Streaming SIMD Extensions 2 (SSE2)

With the introduction of SSE2, the Intel NetBurst microarchitecture now extends the SIMD capabilities that MMX technology and SSE technology delivered by adding 144 new instructions. These instructions include 128-bit SIMD integer arithmetic and 128-bit SIMD double- precision floating-point operations. These new instructions reduce the overall number of instructions required to execute a particular program task and as a result can contribute to an overall performance increase. They can accelerate a broad range of applications including video, speech, and image; photo processing; encryption; financial; engineering and scientific applications.

Manageability Features

Thermal sensors on the Intel Xeon processor MP enable the system to actively monitor and manage thermal conditions and reduce the chance of system failure. This processor also includes Error Correction Code (ECC) on the Integrated Three-Level cache architecture to maintain the integrity of mission-critical data. The Intel Xeon processor MP also comes with a System Manageability Bus (SMBus) which enables efficient communications between components and allows for easy access to system manageability information stored in the Processor Information ROM. These features of the Intel Xeon processor MP provide platform-level manageability for reliable, robust server operation and ease of management.

Product Performance

The Intel Xeon processor MP (now available in a 4MB Integrated Level 3 cache version) delivers the next generation of performance for e-Business and enterprise server applications. Processor performance data is available on the Intel Xeon Processor MP Business Products & Services website.