Intel on Tuesday launched the Xeon 7500 processor series. The new processors are expandable to include two to 256 chips per server and offer an average performance three times better than the company’s 7400 series.
Kirk Skaugen, vice president of the Intel architecture group and general manager of Intel’s data-center group, boldly proclaimed that Intel is democratizing high-end computing with its Nehalem EX processors.
What’s certain is that the processor’s capabilities make it possible for IT managers to consolidate up to 20 older single-core, four-chip servers onto a single server while maintaining the same level of performance. That, Intel said, could mean up to a 92 percent reduction in energy costs and a one-year ROI due to reductions in power, cooling and licensing costs.
No More Good-Enough Computing
For years, a clear line separated the capabilities of servers based on Intel’s x86 microprocessor architecture and “enterprise class” UNIX and mainframe systems, noted Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.
“People argued over the length, width and clarity of the line, but the reliability, availability and security of UNIX and mainframes typically gave them the technological edge,” King said. “As a result, x86 system proponents tended to focus on the overall price and performance advantages of those servers, in effect arguing, ‘Okay, x86 can’t absolutely beat those systems’ RAS features. But how much extra are you willing to pay for those capabilities?'”
Good enough computing — the point where the performance premium offered by higher-end systems is overtaken or subsumed by the price of x86 — was the way former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina described this divide. But King said the evolution of so-called “good enough” solutions has been deadly for enterprise systems over the last decade. King credits Intel, which started the x86 ball rolling, with innovation in the space. He said the Xeon 7500 series…