Another report of Itanium troubles at cpq
Looks like Mike Magee has garnered another IT scoop.
Compaq Won't Ship Itanium Systems Yet
Says processor failed standards tests; Intel not confirming
By Edward F. Moltzen, CRN, New York
3:46 PM EST Mon., Nov. 12, 2001
crn.com
Compaq has delayed shipment of its Itanium-based servers, saying Intel's 64-bit processors have failed Compaq's standards testing when it built both branded and white-box beta systems.
In the process, the computer maker and the chip giant appeared at odds with each other over the cause of any problems.
Compaq said it has isolated the problem specifically to Intel's new, 64-bit Itanium processor, which began shipping earlier this year. Intel refused to confirm that any issue has been found that directly ties in to the chip's performance.
A spokesman for Compaq, Houston, said the computer maker's decision affects its ProLiant DL 590 line of servers, which were announced in July but have not yet shipped.
Intel and Compaq are working together to find the "root cause" of the problem, the spokesman said. While not identifying the specific problem, the spokesman said it was only discovered recently.
Compaq has isolated the issue "specific to the processor itself," the spokesman said.
An Intel spokesman declined to comment, saying the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company feels it inappropriate to "confirm or discuss" any such problems "until it's certain it's an Intel component issue."
Any fissure between Compaq and Intel over the Itanium platform would appear significant for at least two major reasons: Compaq is a high-volume global server vendor. And Compaq was so eager to endorse the Itanium platform that the company decided earlier this year to eventually pull the plug on its own 64-bit processor, Alpha, and unify its server offerings under Intel's processor.
Intel's spokesman noted that about 20 other major server vendors are now shipping Itanium-based systems. Those vendors include Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, Calif., which has pending a proposed merger with Compaq. |
