Technology News
Intel Rolls Out New Xeons
(01/05/99, 7:56 p.m. ET)
By Marcia Savage, Computer Reseller News
Intel pushed harder into the server market Tuesday,
rolling out new versions of its high-end Pentium II Xeon
chip to support four-processor servers.
The three new 450-MHz processors, with 512
kilobytes, 1 megabyte to 2 MBs of Level 2 cache, offer
the performance features needed for server applications
such as e-commerce and enterprise resource planning,
according to Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel.
During a briefing, John Miner, vice president and
general manager of Intel's enterprise-server group, said
applications that will greatly benefit from the larger, 2
MBs of cache include database-intensive applications.
The new Xeon chips reflect Intel's goal of moving up
the enterprise-computing ladder, Miner said.
Later this quarter, Intel will announce the 500-MHz
Tanner, the next in its Xeon family line of processors for
servers. Tanner will incorporate the Katmai new
instructions, which include enhanced 3-D graphics and
speech-recognition capabilities.
Miner said Intel will make an announcement about
processors to support eight-way servers later in the first
half of this year. "Stay tuned," he said.
The server market is growing fast, due primarily to
growing Internet use, he said. The market requires
high-performance processors and platforms, tends to
consume multiple processors, and products for the
market command higher prices due to their complexity,
he added.
"It's a very good business proposition for Intel and we
intend to pursue it," Miner said.
In 1,000-unit quantities the 450-MHz Xeon processor
with 512 KBs of L2 cache costs $824, the version with
1 MB of L2 cache costs $1,980, and the version with 2
MBs of L2 cache costs $3,692.
Several vendors announced or will announce four-way
server systems based on the new Xeon chips. They
include Compaq Computer, Data General,
Hewlett-Packard, and Unisys.
Nathan Brookwood, analyst at Insight 64, Saratoga,
Calif., said the Xeon processor "is like a hot knife
through butter." In the midrange server market, Intel
competes against proprietary RISC vendors, and
offers lower-priced chips, he said.
"The more [Intel] can do to drive their sales into that
part of the market with the Xeon, the better for its
overall economic performance and the market overall,"
he said.
At Tuesday's meeting, Miner also talked about the
effort to build enhanced I/O capacity through the
next-generation I/O (NGIO) specification for future
Intel-based servers. The effort sparked controversy late
last year, when IBM, HP, and Compaq demanded they
have more control of new specification. The companies
also wanted royalty and licensing fees on I/O
technology they pioneered, sources have said.
Asked whether any progress had been made between
Intel and the three server giants, Miner said, "There are
ongoing discussions. At this point in time, the situation
hasn't changed."
He said Intel would welcome the companies'
participation in the project, but has not yet seen any
proposals from them. He added that NGIO will be an
industry-developed, open, and royalty-free
specification. |
