Intel Investors - This article mentions the Deschutes AND the 440BX chip set as "possibly" appearing in Q1 of next year.
Paul
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infoworld.com
Intel maps out server chip strategy, but should
users jump?
By Ephraim Schwartz
InfoWorld Electric
Posted at 7:17 AM PT, Nov 3, 1997
In the first half of 1998 Intel will try and set the pace at which IT managers march toward server-hardware
upgrades. However, many companies may be better off staying with their existing Pentium Pro architectures
until the second half of the year.
The 0.25-micron version of the Pentium II, code-named Deschutes, will at first be available in a Slot-1-ready
cartridge as early as the first quarter, and will ship with a new BX core-logic chip set, according to sources
familiar with the Intel road map. However, Slot 1 will be limited for use in two-way processor systems with a
maximum of 512KB of Level 2 cache.
Only in the second half of the year will Intel upgrade Deschutes with a Slot-2 version and an NX450 chip set,
which will add four-way processor support and 2MB of cache that runs at full-system speed rather than a
half-system speed.
"We're OK with Pentium Pro 200 and we'll wait on our large-scale conversion," said Lorin Olsen, senior
manager of groupware and e-mail, at Sprint Technology Services, in Kansas City, Kan. "We're more
interested in the Slot 2 because of the four-way capability and because its design suffers less from poor
multiprocessor ratio. That's the amount of processor you realize versus the amount you purchase."
And finding the right system balance is the key issue facing IT managers as they get ready to adopt new
server architectures.
"As you add each additional processor the system takes more of the resources to manage it. With the
changes from Slot 1 to Slot 2 you'll see higher ratios," Olsen said. "Based on what Intel has released we'll
get what we need out of a four-way Pentium Pro until the four-way Deschutes is available."
At least one analyst agreed.
"If an IT manager needs a four-processor machine, he should wait because the two-processor machine is
not upgradable," said Peter Glaskowsky, a senior analyst at Microprocessor Report, in Sebastopol, Calif.
Included with the NX450 chip set will be support for optional cluster interconnect for anything greater than a
four-way server; support for four, rather than two, Universal Serial Bus ports; and support for IEEE-1394
Device Bay, the source said. This chip set is key for clustering beyond four ways. A high-end Intel option is
the eight-way server designs from Corollary, which Intel acquired last month, or Axil, a unit of Hyundai.
"Profusion [Corollary's solution for eight-way processing] is out of gas at eight processors," Glaskowsky
said. "The NX450 chip set allows a manufacturer to take standard four-processor Deschutes, then connect
to another four-way and you can have eight or 12 or 16 ... ," Glaskowsky said.
According to a source familiar with Intel's plans, the company has an internal goal of making the four-way
Deschutes capable of 12,000 transactions per minute.
"That would allow system OEMs to deliver a commodity box that is the equivalent of a much higher-priced
enterprise server," the source said.
The two-way Deschutes with BX is a better desktop chip set, the source added. The only benefits are a
faster system bus and main-memory interface, which run at 100 MHz.
Intel officials declined to comment.
Intel Corp., in Santa Clara, Calif., is at intel.com. |
