IT Infrastructure - eWeek

IT Infrastructure: Intel 'Nehalem' Chip Ramps Up Performance, Virtualization Capabilities


In what Intel officials called the most significant processor rollout since the Pentium Pro in 1995, the chip maker March 30 unveiled the Xeon 5500 series—code-named Nehalem EP—for two-socket servers. The chip was designed to meet the demands of data center administrators under pressure to keep operating expenses down even as workloads increase. The 45-nanometer, quad-core Xeon 5500 series offers enhancements to improve performance and efficiency, such as an integrated memory controller, triple the memory bandwidth of previous Xeon chips, a chip-to-chip interconnect, greater virtualization capabilities, and the ability to dynamically adjust to workloads and conditions. Intel officials say the Xeon 5500 series set 30 performance records and the performance increase was attained within the same power and thermal envelopes as previous chips.
 
  • Intel 'Nehalem' Chip Ramps Up Performance, Virtualization Capabilities
    by Jeffrey Burt
  • The Old and the New
    Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, displays Intel's original Pentium Pro processor (left), which debuted in 1995, and the chip maker's new Xeon 5500 series processor.
  • All in the Family
    The new Xeon 5500 series includes an integrated memory controller, something that rival AMD has been offering in its Opterons since 2003. The integrated memory controller eliminates the need for a front side bus.
  • Phased Rollout
    Intel is releasing its "Nehalem" architecture over several months. The chip maker rolled out the first chips for high-end PCs and workstations in fall of 2008, and the Nehalem EX chips, for servers with four or more sockets, are expected later in 2009.
  • Turbo Boost
    A new feature in Nehalem is Turbo Boost, which enables IT administrators to dynamically increase or lower the clock speed of individual processing cores depending on demand.
  • High Performance and Energy Efficiency
    Intel officials say the Xeon 5500 series offers IT administrators a 9-1 consolidation ratio for servers running older Xeons, and does this while being 18 percent more energy-efficient.
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