The Server Room Blog

4 Posts tagged with the it tag
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Hey, just a heads up to all the Blog Talk Radio fans out there. Hank Lea & Josh Hilliker were out in Denver for the Intel Premier IT Professional (IPIP) Event. The Blog Talk Radio Wrap-Up show is HERE, including a few key interviews with Citrix, Sun & Intel.

We will also be attending the next event in Portland, September 11th as well. Click the link for event details and registration. See you there!

0 Comments Permalink Tags: ipip, denver, blog_talk_radio, itunes, it, professional, best_practices, knowlege_sharing, virtualization, datacenter, vpro_expert_center, the_server_room
Click to view C_Peters's profile
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45nm and Beyond

Posted by C_Peters Apr 23, 2008

Technology moves at such a rapid pace - it can often be mind-boggling. Even working directly with the product teams at Intel, I sometimes have difficulty keeping pace. The good news is that there is a tremendous opportunity today to be captured thanks to this rapid innovation, as well as a steady stream of advanced technology that IT can use to better support business and gain a competitive advantage. Recently I was interviewed by Tim Phillips from the Register about the current 45nm Quad-Core Intel Xeon products and the next generation Intel platforms based on the Nehalem processor.

A few years back, Intel fundamentally changed the way we design and develop our underlying micro-processor technology. We streamlined our innovation and accelerated it's pace. Internally, we call this new model Tick-Tock. I like to call it shrink and innovate.

A "Tick" is a manufacturing process shrink that delivers smaller silicon with higher speeds, more transistors and lower power consumption (example: moving from 65nm to 45nm process technology). The 45nm quad-core xeon processors (available since Nov '07) utilize unique materials (a high-k, dielectric) that are delivering industry leading performance / watt as measured by the industry's first and only standard benchmark, SPECPower
A "Tock" represents a more extensive architectural innovation (ex. Intel Core Microarchitecture) introducing new micro-architecture features and functionality fully utilizing the higher transistor count set up by the shrink. For Intel Xeon-based servers, the next "tock" is Nehalem. In addition to the new micro-architecture based on 45nm, a system re-design will incorporate next generation memory, I/O and virtualization technology for high performance, high bandwidth solutions compatible with today's leading software solutions
Listen to my podcast interview to learn more about the benefits of using today's products and the timing of next generation Intel technology featuring Nehalem. Is this information useful to you? If so ... how? Have any questions?

I'd be happy to hear from you. Chris



0 Comments Permalink Tags: 45nm, data_center, quickpath, intel, datacenter, it, datacenter_efficiency, server, server_room, servers, energy_efficiency, technology, high_performance_compting, hpc, nehalem, innovation, performance, power, xeon, virtualization
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I recently found this simple animation that breaks down the Xeon processor family into bite-sized chunks and explains which Xeon-based servers are best suited to meet common IT and business needs.

I shared it last week when traveling with customers in Taiwan and it was well received.

What do you think of this video?

0 Comments 0 References Permalink Tags: 45nm, datacenter, energy_efficiency, server, servers, xeon, harpertown, virtualization, it, business, performance, innovation, technology, processors
Click to view mattchorman's profile
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Hi! Since this is my first post to the server room, I thought I would introduce myself and give you a bit of background on who I am.

My name is Matt Chorman, and I am a validation engineer at Intel where I get to work with EPSD (Enterprise Products and Services Division) servers. My job is to test a wide range of products, from single processor servers up to Itanium2 "Big Iron" boxes. I'm an open source guy, and have been working with Linux in the enterprise for nine years. During recent years, I have also been running performance testing and tuning on all the servers that come through our lab.

I work in platform validation (which is an engineering role), but I have a unique perspective on servers; I worked in IT for a number of years, culminating in a System Administration role for a mid-sized finance company. There were many challenges that I faced that are becoming the calling card of IT everywhere:


  • Heat in the server room.
  • Too many servers for the space we were allocated.
  • Client management difficulties.
  • Power usage of the clients.

These problems are directly tied to the lack of efficiency in the software they were using. However, there is a tradeoff when it comes to looking at options to improve the speed of your network.

  • How much would it have cost to hire a team of programmers to re-write this custom software to be more efficient?
  • How much would it cost to simply purchase a newer (and much better performing) server to compensate for this?
  • Were there things that I could have done to make the servers we had run more efficiently?
  • Where do you draw the line between employee complaints about the speed of a certain server and the cost of upgrading (i.e. employee efficiency)?

These are the type of questions IT folks everywhere are faced with, and unfortunately there are no black-and-white answers. However, these are the questions I'll be exploring in my blog. I may not be able to offer you answers, but perhaps I can give you some ideas you can use in your own organization. Maybe you'll give me some answers that I can use within my own role!

Also, like all of us here, I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have for me. If I don't have the answers, I can probably find someone who can answer them for you.

Cheers, and happy computing!

1 Comments 0 References Permalink Tags: introduction, it, matt_chorman