RE: [As for future profits, the XEON is a key pillar in Intel's new segmented market approach. It will provide Intel with a high performance/high margin processor configuration in a segment with no x86 competition.]
Just thought I would remind you that the market for Intel multi-processor systems is not mature by a long shot (4 or 8 CPU configurations). The same can be said for the market's trust in their ability to run mission critical applications. I'm sure the chipset/cpu conflict flaw did a lot to bolster mpu market's faith in their abilities.
news.com
EXCERPT OF ABOVE LINK
{{Most server vendors, including IBM and Compaq,
have said that they will not release 8-way Intel
servers until late 1998 or early 1999,
when Intel releases a standard chipset
for 8-way processing.
A number of other companies with similar technology
have either been acquired or have changed their
business models because the market for high-end
Intel-based servers is an extremely small one.
Corollary is the prime example, having been purchased
by Intel last year as the chipmaking giant moved to
accelerate development of multiprocessor systems built
around the Xeon Pentium II due out next week.
Even with Intel's efforts, the market for systems
such as HP's LXr Pro8 has not taken off, and
isn't likely to anytime soon, analysts say.
"We're not waiting for [this market] to explode in
the mainstream anytime soon," said Joyce Tompsett
Becknell, director of distributed computing research
at In-Stat.
"In our research, most customers are buying 1- or 2-way
systems. Windows NT certainly doesn't scale up to eight
processors, but that's not where Microsoft is playing,"
she noted. "Scale" refers to the performance of Windows
NT in high-end multiprocessing environments. NT 4.0,
according to many, can only take effective advantage of
four processors at once in conventional servers.
"It is an emerging market. NT is only now scaling to
take advantage of 8-way systems, but it scales more than
some have realized," Axil's Nilsson acknowledged.
Becknell sees companies focusing more on tying 4-processor
systems together rather than buying a single system
with eight chips because they are looking for ways to
increase system reliability. Even beyond the introduction
of new Intel chips and chipsets, analysts say companies
will be cautious about adopting new systems for
critical programs that need to constantly running
without interruption.}}
REGARDS
Buckwheat |
