* IBM’s X3 chipset
IBM last week unveiled a chipset to be used in combination with Intel’s XeonMP processor in high-end xSeries servers.
The X3, dubbed Hurricane, is the company’s third generation of the chipset, the first two being Summit EXA and Summit-II (X2). X3 will be used in an upcoming xSeries x336 server, which will ship in 90 days when Intel releases the XeonMP processor.
Unlike its predecessors, Hurricane integrates the processor with a memory controller, cutting memory latency. It is 38% faster than the X2, which is used in IBM’s xSeries x335 server, a two-processor 1U high rack-mounted box.
“The company’s new Hurricane chipset offers a notable example of how vendors can enhance industry-standard architectures via well-designed complementary technologies,” writes Charles King, principal of Pund-IT Research, in a report published last week.
“IBM’s X3 architecture reflects a simple truism: In the hands of an imaginative, innovative vendor, industry standard computing can be anything but standard,” King says.
Hurricane also includes IBM’s Virtual XceL4v Dynamic Server Cache, which makes L4 cache unnecessary, and embedded DRAM, three 6.4G-byte/sec ports and PCI-X 2.0. IBM will also integrate some of its virtualization engine features into X3.
However, King questions whether users would adopt X3.
“Will those x86 server customers who focus on the price side of price/performance claims truly understand or care about these enhancements?” King says.
The X3 is intended for back-office databases and SAP implementations. It will also run Windows Server 2003 for 64-bit Extended Systems when that operating system is available from Microsoft. Presently only Red Hat and SuSE Linux support the 32/64-bit technology.
IBM spent three years and more than $100 million developing the Hurricane chipset.
The company claims a TPC-C OLTP benchmark for the x335 of over 102,000 transactions per minute. It expects the xSeries 366 will perform at over 142,000 transactions per minute.
Eventually, users may see the X3 technology in IBM’s BladeCenter servers. It would be dual-core-enabled when Intel releases dual-core technology in 2006.
X3 will compete with high-end Itanium and Xeon systems from HP and with Xeon systems from Dell.
