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To: dougSF30 who wrote (3637)	8/3/2000 11:29:49 PM
From: milo_morai	Respond to of 275872

Doug I know, but there's always been discussion about Slot B where K7/K8 are interchangable with Alpha Chips. Plus AMD is in bed good with Compaq. I like anything that would put Merced to Shame. Milo "Shannon knows Compaq Compaq Project # 12U4-0700A-WWEN May 19, 2000 Shannon Knows Compaq An Independent publication not affiliated with Compaq Computer Corporation ISSN 1079-4379 is published at least twice monthly by Terry C. Shannon 135 Leland Farm Road Ashland, MA 01721 +1-508-881-5563 (voice, no fax) shannon@world.std.com (email) acersoft.com (web) Copyright © 2000 Terry C. Shannon To order reprints go to: compaq.litorders.com continued from page 1 will fully exploit the OpenVMS Galaxy Software Architecture and the NUMA-fied Tru64 UNIX “Zulu” release. The Price is Right Owners of AlphaServer 8400 systems and rival enterprise servers should find the GS-Series pricing structure to be very attractive, especially at the low end. GS-Series prices start at under $100K for a uniprocessor GS80 system; additional CPUs cost $15K apiece and memory ranges from $11K for a 1GB module to $53K for the 4GB module that will be available in the third quarter. (Five years ago, a 1GB AlphaServer 8400 memory module cost over $100K!) Accordingly, an 8-CPU GS80 with 4GB of memory should cost about $225K plus storage. The GS80 entry system is slated to be-gin shipping in the third quarter. An entry GS160 system with one CPU lists for $241K; additional CPUs for the GS160 and GS320 go for $23K each. Hence a 16-processor GS160 will start at around $600K. A uniprocessor GS320 lists at $551K; populated with 32 CPUs and 32GB of memory the system will go for about $1.6M. GS160 and GS320 systems begin shipping in June with full volume production expected in the fall. Max Headroom The GS-Series is designed for a market life of at five to six years, a near-eternity in the enterprise server marketplace over its lifespan. The GS-Series architecture is compatible with processors running at 104MHz speed increments. SKC be-lieves Compaq has targeted 939MHz or 1043MHz EV68 CPUs for the first WildFire refresh. The speed of the first CPU upgrade will be predicated on Samsung’s Alpha EV68 chip yields; but it’s safe to assume that WildFire will be running ~1GHz Alpha CPUs within the next 12 months. IBM plans to start shipping copper-based EV68 parts in mid-2001; these CPUs could boast speeds of up to 1250 MHz. Since the new GS-Series systems will be upgradable to EV7 and EV8 processors, future systems could offer as much as twenty times the performance of the first-generation products. When EV7 proces-sors become available in ~2002, their on-chip “glueless SMP” logic will en-able Compaq to increase the maximum CPU count of a GS-Series system from 32 to as many as 64 processors. (GS-Series owners will be able to upgrade their systems to the EV7-based “Marvel” architecture by replacing the QBBs, Global Switch logic, and memo-ry in their existing systems). Given the near-linear scalability of the GS-Series architecture, doubling the pro-cessor count should virtually double system performance. And if Compaq achieves its goal of increasing the trans-action processing throughput of an Alpha CPU by a factor of 10 from the current EV67 implementation to an 8-wide EV8 with simultaneous multithreading (see “A Tale of Two Architectures: Alpha vs. Itanium,” this issue), WildFire will gain an additional tenfold performance improvement. As a point of comparison, the incumbent AlphaServer GS140 offers about four times the performance of the original AlphaServer 8400 5/300 intro-duced in April 1995. A twentyfold per-formance boost over the life of an enter-prise server can be very compelling: just ask a Sun UE10K customer facing a near-term upgrade to Sun’s next-genera-tion Serengeti technology. The actual performance improvement over the GS-Series service life could be significantly higher. Given Compaq’s plans to increase the maximum CPU count in a GS-Series system to 64 pro-cessors when EV7 technology becomes available, and given the anticipated per-formance improvement attributable to the simultaneous multithreading architecture in the EV8 Alpha processor, we believe the GS-Series will have an “in the box” growth capability of at least 25x. And by cabling multiple cabinets together, Compaq could field even larger cache-co-herent NUMA SMP systems. With EV7 technology, 128-way systems are feasi-ble. With EV8 processors, the architec-tural limit increases dramatically: a 256- way or larger system is not beyond the realm of possibility. All in all, the Al-phaServer sales force has a Marvel-ous investment protection story. Book ‘em, Compaq! As of May 16, a significant number of customers—92 percent of which are in the installed base—have bought into the story: Compaq had 237 Day One orders, plus an additional firm order for 100 sys-tems to be delivered in ~2001. The ma-jority of the initial orders are for GS160 and GS320 configurations, and average system price is ~$500M sans storage and services. Accordingly, Compaq re-mains confident of achieving its 2H00 WildFire revenue goal of $1B. Going forward, the platform should produce at least $2B in incremental revenue in 2001. Once Compaq addresses the sig-nificant pent-up demand in the installed base, we expect the firm to boldly go where no Compaq has gone before—and where no DEC has been in quite a long time—into highly lucrative markets now dominated by rival server vendors. It’ll Spread Like, Well, WildFire SKC believes the popularity of Com-paq’s new GS-Series will spread like, well, WildFire. We are confident the GS-Series rollout will reset marketplace perceptions and customer expectations. The new GS-Series will build on the success of the TurboLaser platform by providing customers with a modular, partitionable, and highly scalable enter-prise server. The combination of power-ful Alpha processors and fast switches target performance levels surpassing sys-tems from Sun, IBM and HP. Since the new GS-Series will be upgradable to faster Alpha CPU technology and larger processor counts, we believe that Wild-Fire represents a uniquely compelling long-term investment for installed base customers and newcomers alike. ?" compaq.com

To: dougSF30 who wrote (3637)	8/4/2000 9:01:58 AM
From: milo_morai	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 275872

<font color=darkred>You’ll Get a Slot You Like "B" API used its first birthday party to unveil the Slot B architecture and chip packaging it co-developed with AMD. Similar in concept to the Intel Slot 2 Xeon module, the Alpha Slot B processor module contains the CPU, cache memory, voltage regulator, and a massive heat sink. Significantly, Slot B packaging enables Alpha and AMD K7 processors to share a common motherboard. This commonality will allow Alpha systems to exploit AMD K7 volumes, thus driving down the cost of Alpha-based products and rendering them more attractive to OEMs. This of course is consistent with API’s goal of driving Alpha into the high-volume marketplace. (SKC notes that API, like Compaq itself, is now placing increasing emphasis on Linux as a volume expansion solution for the 64-bit platform.).... ...Mo’ Better Motherboards Debuting with Slot B was the UP (as in Ultimate Performance) 2000, a dual-processor-capable Alpha motherboard based on an extended ATX form factor. Developed under the code name “Swordfish,” the UP2000 supports one or two Alpha Slot B processors starting at 667MHz, and uses the same Compaq 21272 “Tsunami” core logic chipset found on Compaq’s DP264 motherboard. The UP2000 should ship by late July or early August. Prices (in 100-piece quantities) for UP2000 boards equipped with a single Alpha Slot B processor range from $4,554 (667MHz CPU with 2MB of L2 cache) to $6,611 (750MHz processor with 8MB of L2 cache.) In its role as a cost-reduced variant of the DP264, the UP2000 sells for about $1.2K less than equivalent DP264 offerings, but is constrained by slower memory and a maximum memory capacity of 2GB compared with 4GB. Due sometime in the third quarter is the UP1000, an ATX form factor board supporting a single Alpha Slot B processor starting at 600MHz. Code named “Naut-ilus,” the UP1000 boasts the first-ever AGP support for Alpha. The econoboard also introduces AMD’s Northbridge Irongate core logic chipset, a cost and component-reduced replacement for the Compaq Tsunami chipset. The UP1000 will replace the incumbent 164UX and 164LX Alpha uniprocessor motherboards. API has yet to disclose pricing and delivery dates, but the firm believes the UP1000 will allow OEMs to build entry Alpha systems for about ~$2K... The New Alpha Timetable Equally notable is the latest instantiation of the Alpha processor roadmap. After languishing at the 500MHz to 600MHz level for more than a year, Alpha appears set to reassert a demonstrable clock rate advantage over Intel. API has 667MHz EV67 parts today, and claims it will ship 750MHz EV67 CPUs in August. Samsung late this year plans to bring up an 0.18-micron CMOS8 process with a mixture of aluminum and copper interconnects. API therefore hopes to be able to ship 833MHz EV68 processors by November, and 933MHz EV68 parts by February 2000. If all goes well and API manages to adhere to its quarterly “speed bump” schedule 1GHz EV68 parts could materialize by May 2000. Samsung’s Y2K move to silicon-on-insulator and then copper technology could yield EV68 parts running at 1.2GHz before the new millennium, and ultimately at speeds as high as 1.5GHz. In the interim, API plans to revisit its PCA “value series” Alpha chip strategy by shipping a low-cost version of the 21264 early next year. The “Alpha Lite” will be based on an 0.18u die shrink of the 264 core running at less than 800 MHz... Waiting in the Wings API already has plans for second-generation Slot B motherboards. Within the next 12 months, the UP1000 and UP2000 motherboards will be upstaged by “Caspian,” a dual-processor ATX form factor board based on the Irongate-2 chipset. Caspian will support Alpha Slot B EV67 and EV68 processors and will provide up to 4.2GB/sec of memory bandwidth using PC-266 DDR-SDRAM. Also on board will be 4X AGP, dual 64-bit 66MHz PCI-buses, and up to 8GB of memory. Sometime thereafter, SKC anticipates the debut of “Tasman,” an eight-way Slot B board based on an API core logic. Tasman will support 16 to 32GB of 133MHz DDR or RAMBUS memory. If API can meet its price and performance goals, not to mention its timetable, higher Alpha volumes just may become reality. acersoft.com Doug are you getting my excitement yet? Milo Source Avatar on RB