Compaq 112726-001 - ProLiant - 6500 White Paper page 8

ECG078/0498
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HITE APER
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Slot 1: 66MHz and 100MHz
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Slot 2: 100MHz
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Operating Frequency:
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Slot 1: 333MHz on 66MHz system bus; 350, 400, and 450 on 100MHz system bus in 1998
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Slot 2: 400 and 450 on 100MHz system bus in 1998
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L2 Cache Size:
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Slot 1: Performance DT PC: 512KB
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Slot 2: 512KB, 1MB, 2MB
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L2 Cache Speed:
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Slot 1: 1/2 speed of processor core (same as current); on-die L2 cache: TBD
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Slot 2: Same speed as processor core (full speed)
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Compaq Servers Designed for the Future
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To take advantage of this next-generation technology and to allow a growth path for the future,
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Compaq engineers specifically designed the subsystems of the ProLiant 3000 with the flexibility
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to accommodate future needs for the Deschutes/Slot-1 processor and the ProLiant 7000 for the
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Deschutes/Slot-2 processor and for up to 8-way Deschutes/Slot-2 configurations. By planning in
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advance for Deschutes/Slot-2 and 8-way requirements, Compaq has been able to engineer the
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ProLiant 7000 power supplies, thermal capacity, and chassis with extra headroom to
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accommodate this additional load.
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Customers should expect the following from Compaq systems and Deschutes processors:
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. . In-chassis upgrades for the ProLiants 6000, 6500, and 7000
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Performance benefits: 4-way Deschutes/Slot-2 400MHz will outperform the 8-way Pentium
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Pro for a smaller cost and with far greater processor longevity
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System bus speed up to 100MHz
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Processing core operating frequency - up to 450MHz on 100MHz system bus
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L2 cache sizes of 512KB, 1MB and 2MB
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Other Companies' Choices
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Currently, ALR, NCR, Axil, and Unisys (and others that OEM their products) all offer Pentium
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Pro-based 8-way servers, according to a Meta Group report. With 4-way Deschutes/Slot-2
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systems offering equivalent performance to (if not greater than) 8-way Pentium Pro systems, user
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investment in >4-way Pentium Pro systems becomes tactical. These investments will be further
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marginalized; because of major differences in Pentium Pro and Deschutes/Slot-2, upgrading
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. . Pentium Pro-based servers will require at least entire system board replacements, if not an entirely
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new box. Further, given Intel's Corollary acquisition, Meta Group believes the majority of
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. . existing >4-way vendors will cancel proprietary 8-way Deschutes/Slot-2 plans. In other words,
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vendors who are not using the Intel 8-way architectures will run the risk of not adhering to widely
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adopted standards.
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There are several other common potential weaknesses to these competitive architectures including
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transitions requiring significant engineering, memory controller problems, incompatibility with
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the Intel 450NX chipset, and no support for delayed transactions with the Intel 450NX host-to-
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NTERPRISE LASS YSTEMS