Compaq DL590 - HP ProLiant - 1 GB RAM Technology Brief page 3

TC020702TB
T B
ECHNOLOGY RIEF
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6 4 - B C
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At its simplest level, 64-bit processing means the registers and execution units within the processor
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can access addresses and manipulate data that are 64 bits wide. Although 32-bit microprocessor
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architecture has 64-bit data paths, its internal registers and execution units only access addresses
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and manipulate data that are 32 bits wide. True 64-bit computing requires not only the 64-bit
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characteristics of the processor, but also a 64-bit operating system (OS). The characteristics of a
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64-bit computing environment include very large files and file systems, large amounts of system
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and virtual memory, and a large memory addressing space.
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For most enterprise applications, the greatest immediate impact of 64-bit computing is the ability
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to address a significantly larger pool of system memory—as much as 64-gigabytes (GB) with the
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first 64-bit processor and chipset from Intel and, theoretically, more than 700 terabytes with
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subsequent processors on the Intel roadmap. Addressing larger system memory pools will allow
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applications to run faster while handling larger data sets. Early 32-bit Intel Architecture (IA-32)
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processors could directly address only 4 GB of system memory; more recent IA-32 processors can
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directly address up to 16 GB of system memory. Initial implementations of 64-bit Intel
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Architectures (IA-64) will allow direct, high-speed access to 64 GB of system memory. The large
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64-bit address space allows 4 billion times as many memory addresses as 32-bit systems, resulting
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in a theoretical physical memory limit into the exabytes.
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As memory density increases and relative cost of memory decreases, it becomes feasible to
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implement system memory in the hundreds of GB, enabling significant performance improvements
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for large, memory-intensive enterprise applications. The benefits of larger system memory pools
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include:
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Faster access to huge amounts of data in memory—a significant advantage for customers who
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use large databases
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Increased capacity for more users
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Greater application performance due to less page swapping and fewer page faults
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Easier communication between programs to share code and data
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Better manipulation of huge data sets
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Solutions for larger and more complex requirements
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Customers with power-hungry applications such as decision support, database management, data
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mining, data warehousing, and e-commerce will see significant performance improvements
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through the adoption of 64-bit solutions.
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. . Applications requiring higher floating point capabilities, such as number crunching, analytics,
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rendering, and high-performance technical computing (HPTC) will also see performance
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. . advantages over 32-bit systems. As compilers mature, many software vendors and HPTC
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companies will be investigating IA-64 systems as an alternative to UNIX platforms.
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Where the benefits of IA-64 can be recognized, many software vendors and companies with
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custom code are using IA-64 systems as a development platform for porting their code. Since any
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code that is ported on IA-64 systems can easily be migrated to the follow-on platform based on the
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next-generation 64-bit processor, it makes sense that these companies start early to increase their
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competitiveness in the market.
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