The new Six-Core AMD Opteron processor, formerly code-named “Istanbul,” bridges two worlds — in technology
In today’s tight economy, IT professionals are looking to Six-Core AMD Opteron™ processor-based servers to give them the performance efficiency to handle heavy workloads with maximum value and energy savings at every price point.
Socket-compatible with a broad range of the AMD Opteron™ processor offerings, from Rev F (which began shipping in 2006) through the processor models formerly code-named “Shanghai,” the new Six-Core AMD Opteron processors (formerly code-named “Istanbul”) continue the tradition of delivering substantial performance gains over previous AMD Opteron processor models within the same power and thermal envelope. The Six-Core AMD Opteron processor launched on June 1, 2009.
The “Istanbul” processor was released ahead of schedule, according to John Fruehe, director of business development for server/workstation products at AMD, and it is “everything we had hoped for, and more.” Its predecessor, the 45-nanometer Quad-Core AMD Opteron (formerly code-named “Shanghai”) was released in November 2008 and was also ahead of schedule.
“With strong OEM and channel support expected at the launch of the processors code-named “Istanbul,” in part enabled by the processor’s stable platform infrastructure, IT executives should have a wide range of 12-, 24- and 48-core servers to choose from that offer exceptional performance-per-watt capabilities along with higher value than that of competitive products,” says Ron Myers, senior product marketing manager at AMD.
“The new Six-Core AMD Opteron processors deliver superior value through a balance of performance, energy efficiency and lower ownership costs,” continues Myers. Even with the addition of more cores per processor and other performance enhancements, the processors code-named “Shanghai” operate within the same energy-efficient envelope as previous AMD Opteron processor models and leverage AMD’s Direct Connect Architecture. Says Myers, “This means that users get more from the same trusted infrastructure and shorter time to benefit. It’s about protecting our customers’ investments.”
The “Istanbul” processors are expected to deliver performance that’s as much as 30 percent better than that of the current generation in 2P and 4P servers, according to AMD, and even more in certain memory- and bandwidth-intensive applications, thanks to HT Assist, a new feature for reducing the latency of bringing in a new cache line and for raising the effective bandwidth of the CPUs. These enhancements — combined with continued improvements to AMD-V™ hardware-assisted virtualization technologies and the AMD-P suite of industry-leading power management technologies — should appeal to enterprises and midsize firms running virtualization, Web servers, database management, e-mail and file/print servers — as well as large cloud computing clusters, frequency-intensive high-performance computing and integrated business systems.
Istanbul in Two Worlds
“As a city, Istanbul is the only one that sits on two continents (Asia and Europe),” says Fruehe. As a processor, “Istanbul” also bridges two worlds: (1) the socket-F infrastructure that has been a foundation of AMD processors since 2006 and (2) the next generation of AMD Opteron™ processors, expected in the first quarter of 2010, which will boast more cores, twice the number of memory channels and higher interconnect speeds than ever before.
Just as the city of Istanbul combines aspects of both continents into one whole, the Six-Core AMD Opteron processor combines the best of certain tried-and-true technologies with futuristic innovation. This approach is typical of AMD’s outlook on technology transitions: Take what works, and innovate upon it. As an example, “Istanbul”-processor-powered servers continue to support low-power DDR-2 memory, considered the current sweet spot in terms of performance and price, rather than the more power-hungry (and often more expensive) DDR-3 memory. AMD plans to support DDR-3 memory in a new processor line next year, when its price and power consumption are expected to come down. “If you are struggling to make the most of your IT budget,” says Fruehe, “expensive memory, which can represent up to 50 percent of the cost of a server, is not a good idea.”
This balanced approach extends to the server platform itself, with “Istanbul” processors offering backward compatibility across previous processor generations. “AMD’s platform is built on longevity, not churn,” says Fruehe. With IT staffs being cut back and resources stretched, platform stability can have a comparatively high value, because having to set up new platforms and server images to take advantage of processor improvements may be expensive and difficult to justify in today’s economy.
In contrast to this potentially expensive procedure, AMD’s stable platform can allow for easy transition to “Istanbul”-powered servers, which can translate into enhanced performance while still maintaining the same platforms and images as those of today’s “Shanghai”-based systems. This can enable IT staff to quickly qualify and deploy these servers. Service spares don’t have to change; IT teams don’t have to be trained on new systems; and managing the new “Istanbul” systems will be similar to managing “Shanghai” systems, with many of the same drivers and management interfaces. According to Fruehe, users will gain the benefits of change without much of the extra baggage.
A Virtualization Workhorse
In addition, “Istanbul” processors should be able to benefit companies of all sizes that are leveraging virtualization for consolidation, hosted client computing environments and disaster recovery/business continuity. Because of the platform stability from generation to generation, live migration of virtual machines is possible for servers powered by a single-core AMD Opteron™ Rev E processor, first introduced in 2004, and for servers powered by every AMD Opteron processor introduced since then.
“Istanbul” processors also feature the continued maturation of AMD-V technology with the Rapid Virtualization Indexing (RVI) enhancement. This hardware assist to virtualization can help maximize the number of virtual machines per physical server and users and transactions per virtual machines, using software such as Windows Server® 2008 R2 Hyper-V, XenServer 4.1 from Citrix Systems and the recently announced VMware vSphere.
The virtualization capabilities of “Istanbul” processors are already encompassed in the current versions of hypervisors from Citrix, Microsoft and VMware. This means that customers can take advantage of “Istanbul” processors without having to upgrade to the newest version of the hypervisor — often an expensive and complicated process.
“The AMD ecosystem of software partners, including Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems and VMware, illustrates strong confidence in the advanced virtualization capabilities AMD offers,” says Margaret Lewis, director of Commercial Systems at AMD. “Enabled in part by features such as RVI and Extended Migration, the upcoming Six-Core AMD Opteron processors provide further evidence of the flexibility of AMD-V technology for customers that are turning to virtualization as a mainstream technology for their data centers.”
Upgrades Made Easy
Easy server upgrades are a noteworthy feature of the “Istanbul” processor, given its socket, electrical and thermal compatibility with the previous generations of AMD Opteron processors. Just as server manufacturers can quickly bring the new “Istanbul” processor-powered servers to market, users running servers powered by previous AMD Opteron processor models can leverage the common infrastructure. Upgrading a server that features the Quad-Core AMD Opteron (“Shanghai”) processor to feature the new “Istanbul” processors requires only swapping out the processors and updating the BIOS.
This capability was demonstrated at a recent gathering of the computer press attended by Scott Wasson, editor and founder of The Tech Report, a PC hardware review Web site. “I think drop-in upgrades are a wonderful thing for a server or data center administrator,” says Wasson. “If you own a compatible server, it makes sense to evaluate that kind of upgrade.”
To help partners and customers take advantage of such upgrades, AMD has announced a global AMD Opteron processor upgrade program. The program, which covers Dual- and Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors as well as the new “Istanbul” six-core product, offers a discount of up to 35 percent in processor prices to those who upgrade the generation of their AMD Opteron processors through participating OEMs. Easy upgrades for IT departments, performance gains and energy efficiency from innovative technologies, and a stable platform are qualities CIOs want — especially in a challenging economy.
For more on Six-Core AMD Opteron Processor based solutions, go to www.amd.com/istanbulsolutions.