Two-nuclear Intels Xeon

Evgenie Rudometov

Intel corporation has declared release on the market of two-nuclear processors of Intels Xeon intended for multiprocessor servers

Long time one of the main paths of overgrowth of computational capability of processors was increase in clock rates. However the last years this process was essentially decelerated. The matter is that the limitations superimposed by objective laws physicists of a microcosmos to which boundaries closely have come nearer modern tehprotsessy, operating with units with the sizes calculated already nanometrami have served.

Growth of an uncontrollable leakage current became a consequence of fast reduction of the sizes of transistors and growth of their number on semiconducting crystals of chips. This growth at simultaneous increase in clock rates leads to fast increase teploobrazovanija. Struggle against this phenomenon is rather difficult engineering problem.

However, despite all objective difficulties, the progress linked to development of computer processing techniques, because of it has not stopped. After durable researches as the main path of increase in productivity of computers the path of implementation of parallel calculations has been selected. In quality of the central units of hardware support multinuclear processors which in short period urged to substitute the one-nuclear predecessors in all segments of the computer market appear.

Estimating perspectivity of this path, it is expedient to remind, that numerous users already had possibility to familiarise with such products created for desktop solutions. However for other segments mass implantation of similar architectures is planned on later period.

Laying aside problems of transportable sector where high-powered two-nuclear processors will appear in the beginning of 2006, it is necessary to mark, that the given stage has already occurred for server solutions. Really little more than month back corporation of Intel has declared availability of the first dvuhjadernyh processors of Intel Xeon with support of processing technique Hyper-Threading, the dual-processor servers of initial level oriented to creation. The given processors urged to raise high-speed performance and to improve response time of multithreaded server-based applications. Thanks to implantation of two-nuclear processors of Intel Xeon rise of productivity of modern 64-bit dual-processor servers has made to 50 %.

Not having stopped on reached, in the beginning of this month Intel corporation has declared deliveries to the market of models of processors of Intel Xeon of a series 7000 with code name Paxville MR. These processors are oriented to creation of multiprocessor servers with 2, 4 and more processor pattern. Thus each of processors has on two kernels, banked in uniform processor tank.

Fig. 2. The two-nuclear processor of Intel Xeon and its kernel

To add advantages of the multinuclear architecture, Intel corporation integrates into the processors many innovative processing techniques, including processing technique Hyper-Threading, and also processing techniques of a virtualization, safety and handle support. In a combination to processing technique of Intel Hyper-Threading (HT) which represents one physical kernel as two "logical", the two-nuclear architecture allows to increase essentially size of the operation executable by the processor for a concrete time slice. Thanks to processing technique HT one two-nuclear processor can simultaneously fulfil four program streams, and at installation of additional processors in system also the number of streams supported by it that does the common productivity of higher proportionally increases.

Presence of the own cache memory for each kernel provides faster data access. The number of other processing techniques realised in this processor, includes processing techniques of Intel EM64T, HT, Execute Disable Bit and Demand Based Switching.

Computational capabilities of platforms

Two-nuclear processors of Intel Xeon of a series 7000 (earlier were known under code name Paxville MP) have clock rate to 3,0 GHz and two independent system buses. New processors support existing platforms on the basis of the chipset of Intel E8500 which has been developed for two-nuclear processors and have been released earlier this year. In the beginning of 2006 Intel corporation plans to start deliveries of new versions of this chipset and the new processors, supporting two independent system bus with frequency of 800 MHz.

Release of appropriate computer systems such companies as Aquarius, HP have declared on presentation of the given processors in Moscow, IBM, Kraftway.

Preliminary testing of productivity has shown, that the superiority of these platforms over the previous generations of platforms makes to 60 %.

The platform which beginning of deliveries was declared by Intel corporation, includes memory DDR2, bus PCI Express, advanced processing techniques of support of dependability and hardware support of processing technique of Intel Virtualization. Thanks to this new processing technique the processor can provide hardware support virtualizirovannyh server-based applications that does their more reliable and effective. Now Intel corporation in cooperation with other representatives of branch develops resources which will allow to realise support of processing technique of Intel Virtualization at level BIOS. It is expected, that this project will be completed in the beginning of 2006.

Fig. 2. Development of server platforms of Intel

In second half of 2006 Intel corporation plans to release the processor with code name Tulsa (the two-nuclear processor of Intel Xeon MP with the common cache memory of 3rd level in size of 16 Mb, made with usage 65-nanometrovoj processing techniques and oriented to creation of servers on the basis of four and more processors). Processor Tulsa will be compatible to the two-nuclear processors of Intel Xeon of a series 7000 presented today, and receive it for the purpose of a tentative estimation customers of corporation of Intel can till the end of current year.

In October Intel corporation has brought specifications in the schedule of development of platforms on the basis of processors of Intel Xeon MP, having added with its new platform with code name Caneland. This platform, most likely, will appear in 2007 and will include chetyrehjadernyj the processor with the code name Tigerton, developed on the basis of microarchitecture of Intel of following generation. Platform Caneland will provide even more high efficiency at the expense of a direct coupling of each processor with the chipset. Besides, engineers of Intel are gathered to realise in platform Caneland innovative processing technique of memory Fully-Buffered Dual In-Line Memory Module (FB-DIMM) and four interconnectings of a subsystem of the memory, using advantages of this processing technique.

Intel corporation plans to expand the bar of platforms on the basis of two-nuclear processors for servers and workstations with three other server platforms. This year Intel corporation will start to deliver two-nuclear processors of the set of Intel Itanium, and in first half of 2006 — two-nuclear processors of Intel Xeon for mass systems and two-nuclear processors of Intel Xeon with low energopotrebleniem. Systems on the basis of these processors are already delivered to clients for the purpose of preliminary testing.