In a world where it’s no longer “business as usual,” Intel Corp. is unveiled a new processor as part of its Xeon server line in an effort to revamp the data centre.
The new agile and efficient Intel Xeon processor Scalable family will be the successor to the Intel Xeon processor E5 and E7 product lines. It is designed for a wide range of workloads, from small offices to customers running massive data systems, and optimized for computing, storage and networking.
“Technology has led to literally every industry facing some sort of disruption, and we’re excited to announce our new processor family that will support our customers during this time of digital transformation,” Lisa Spelman, vice president and general manager of Xeon products at Intel, explains during a press call on May 2. “The quality of choices has improved over the last couple years and more compute power will be delivered at a lower cost for every generation. We fundamentally believe that our new products will support the next wave of use cases, like artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and 5G connectivity.”
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With US-based market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) predicting that 50 per cent of Global 2000 companies will depend on their ability to create digitally-enhanced products, services and experiences by 2020, Spelman says Intel came up with three three key requirements for developing the new Xeon line: high quality performance, such as the ability to compute and analyze lots of data; uncompromisable security; and the agility to move and use infrastructure however a business needs it.
The Scalable family, which will be released in mid-2017, is separated into four levels based on business needs, both performance-wise and financially. Bronze is Intel’s entry level-performing processor option, while silver is a step up and provides “efficient performance at low power.” The gold level comes with fast memory, more interconnect/accelerator engines and advanced reliability, with overall great performance, and platinum is Intel’s best performing processor, offering hardware-enhanced security and the best agility for businesses.
It supports integrated options such as Intel Omni-Path Architecture, Intel Ethernet, and accelerators such as Intel QuickAssist and Intel AVX-512, as well as solid-state drives, including Intel Optane SSD DC P4800X and SSD DC P4600.
The Scalable family products have also been rearchitected to “remove the barriers of previous Xeon generations for four and eight socket configurations,” Spelman says, which the company hopes to add more flexibility for customers with varying workloads.
Intel has also announced that its Builders program, a collaboration ecosystem focused on improving data centre solutions, has now more than 450 members across the cloud storage, network and fabric sectors.
“The Builders program represents Intel’s significant investment in continuing to work with ecosystem partners to offer customers the most well-defined solutions and features for emerging and existing workloads,” Spelman concludes. “The program is critical in delivering choice of easy-to-use solutions that maximize platform capabilities.”
