"As in network boxes?"
Networking boxes, connecting to drive arrays... That sort of thing.
"So is the article correct that HT may well become the predominate choice for high end servers and networks"
No, at least not exclusively. HT is a good solution for inside the box. Intel has some fantasies that Infiniband will eventually be used that way, but I personally doubt it. By the time it becomes practical, there will be better technologies. Look at the licensees, many are for embedded use and/or network processors. Which, oddly enough, brings us back to the recent rumors of AMD's acquisition of Alchemy...
In a lot of respects, HT is like x86-64. Sure, there are theoretically better solutions, but it strikes a balance between elegance, functionality, practicality and simplicity. Both are low risk and yet solve the problems they are supposed to address. Intel's solutions, while showing a deep understanding of the problems involved, don't take into account that the darn things need to be manufactured. In this light, I will be interested to see what 3GIO actually turns out to be, assuming that Intel actually gets around to specifying it... |
