SAN
JOSE, Calif., Aug. 22, 2000 -- Nine leading systems vendors, five leading
operating system vendors and more than 30 independent hardware vendors
demonstrated hardware and software readiness for the forthcoming Itanium
processor at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) this week. The platforms,
operating systems, applications and compilers are reaching the stability
levels necessary to enable initial end-user pilots and evaluation beginning
in Q4.
The Itanium processor platform showcase at IDF featured prototype server
and workstation systems highlighting some of the advanced applications
that address the demands of the rapidly evolving enterprise environment,
including enterprise resource planning, business intelligence and high-availability
fail-over. System vendors describing their large, multiprocessor server
designs include Hitachi, NEC and Unisys, with as many as eight to 32
processors in one server design. Other companies demonstrating enterprise
server and workstation hardware and software include: Caldera, Compaq,
Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Mission Critical Linux,
Mitsubishi, SGI and Microsoft.
"We are beginning to see scaling and performance results on prototype
systems that will enable high-transaction-throughput enterprise applications
and teraflop-class clusters running demanding scientific applications,"
said Anand Chandrasekher, vice president, Intel Architecture
Group, and director, Intel. "The variety of enterprise and technical
platforms and applications running at IDF provides a glimpse of the
tremendous industry support for the Itanium processor."
Performance
While still in the prototype phase, early Itanium processor-based
system testing has begun to show impressive results. The Linpack 1000
benchmark, which reflects the performance of the most powerful supercomputers
when solving a dense system of linear equations, has already exceeded
the best single-processor RISC results published. Production platforms
are expected to exceed two billion calculations per second (gigaflops).
The Itanium processor architecture -- even in prototype silicon -- is
also demonstrating breakthrough levels of performance on processor-intensive
security algorithms. For example, on the RSA-1024 bit decryption algorithm,
the Itanium processor prototype silicon performs more than 1,200 decrypts
per second without hardware acceleration -- nearly 10 times the estimated
performance of Sun's UltraSPARC III.
Industry Enabling
Intel has a massive Itanium processor platform industry enabling
program underway in order to ensure end-to-end solutions are available
from a broad choice of server and workstation manufacturers, as well
as application developers worldwide. Program elements include early
and broad distribution of key technical information and development
tools, along with shipments of more than 6,000 prototype servers and
workstation systems to date that include almost 30,000 processors in
single- and multi-processor configurations.
Intel has opened more than 30 Application Solution Centers worldwide,
where Intel engineers and hardware and software designers work together
to tune Itanium processor-based applications. The first in a series
of plugfests, a proving ground where leading hardware and software developers
gather to test and tune their products and technologies on prototype
Itanium processor-based systems, was held in June with more than 100
hardware and software developers in attendance. A second interoperability
plugfest is slated for Sept. 11-15 in Las Vegas.
Designed to address the requirements of high-end servers and workstations,
the Itanium processor is the first in a family of processors from Intel,
and the most significant new development in Intel microprocessor architecture
since the 386 processor was introduced in 1985.
About IDF
The Intel Developer Forum Conference is Intel's premier technical
forum comprising nearly 250 sessions and hands-on labs and more than
100 demonstrations of cutting-edge products and technologies. IDF attracts
thousands of hardware and software developers worldwide. Now in its
third year, the semi-annual conference provides hardware OEMs (original
equipment manufacturers), IHVs (independent hardware vendors), and ISVs
(independent software vendors) with in-depth information on Intel technologies
and initiatives.
More information on the Intel Developer Forum can be found at http://developer.intel.com/idf.
Updated information is available between Intel Developer Forums by subscribing
to the Intel Developer Update Magazine at http://developer.intel.com/update/.
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer
of computer, networking and communications products.
