Hewlett Packard, IBM, Intel and Microsoft announced the launch of a new alliance, the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance. The Alliance has chartered itself with the mission of developing a new hardware and software specification to enable technology companies to use a more trusted and secure personal computer platform based on common standards. Alliance Chairman, David Chan of Hewlett-Packard says, "This workgroup was formed to define the necessary set of capabilities for a security subsystem that would allow a system integrator and solution provider to establish trust on a hardware platform." The Alliance also stated that "personal computers lack a standard set of system hardware-based functions needed to establish trust on the platform."
The cited mission is somewhat nebulous. Are they trying to help Microsoft learn how to secure their widely publicized operating system security holes? Are they trying to develop or certify a PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) solution? Or are they trying to develop desktop and server security standards for systems integrators and solution providers? Whatever their mission is, they plan on creating a proposal for a security specification of sorts by the second half of 2000. Their plan is to make the specification available through licensing subject to proper verification and implementation.
Market Impact
In a world of co-existing truths, it is likely that there are multiple purposes behind this alliance. Microsoft needs to gain consumer confidence in the security of its operating systems, and having two high profile Unix vendors, HP and IBM, on its side is certainly a good starting point. Compaq, HP, and IBM all want to sell servers, and without the confidence of a secure operating system, many organizations today who want a turnkey commercial off-the-shelf server solution are turning to vendors like Sun Microsystems and Novell. E-commerce is the prevailing internet market driver, and without security, financial transactions are a risk and a liability that smart businesses and organizations are not willing to take.
Though the Alliance may be hedging towards putting more security in the BIOS, there are no easy and quick short-cuts to securing information technology infrastructure. Most security experts agree that using a layered security model is the best approach. A layered model secures an organization's network, operating systems, and applications. According to Marcus Ranum, CEO of Network Flight Recorder, and the person most often credited for developing the first firewall, "What it seems they're saying is that they're going to develop hardware specs and BIOS extensions that will enable certain security services to the operating system. That's nice but if the operating system isn't good, security-wise, it won't matter what the hardware provides."
If nothing else, the formation of this alliance is sure to heighten security awareness in the information technology sector as a whole. Elias Levy, Chief Technical Officer of Security Focus and moderator of the well-known Bugtraq security mailing list says, "The alliance is a good idea and has potential. There is a great need to build security features into the basic structure of the computer and the operating system. Only when these features become universal will application writers start making use of them benefiting the end user. Although it is still too early to tell what the exact deliverables are that the alliance hopes to produce, it is encouraging to see these important companies at least attempting to solve some these security issues."
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/compaq-hp-ibm-intel-and-microsoft-create-new-pc-security-alliance-15289/
Compaq, HP, IBM, Intel and Microsoft Create New PC Security Alliance
Compaq's 8-CPU Intel Servers: the New "Big Iron
Compaq started shipments of its eight-CPU Intel servers, the ProLiant 8000 and 8500. The ProLiant 8X00 series is part of the next generation of Intel servers (along with offerings from Dell, HP, IBM, and others) which utilize the Profusion chipset. (This chipset allows servers to break through the previous limitation of four CPUs for the Intel architecture.) Although both products are geared toward the enterprise computing segment, they address different areas within that segment the PL8000 can function either as a standalone or in a rack, the 8500 must be racked, and needs other hardware (primarily disk drives) to support its configuration. Whichever model is chosen, these products are aimed at large datacenter/data warehouse environments, as well as other large-scale computing environments. This product will also be used to consolidate and upgrade existing servers.
Compaq's main competitors in this space are Dell, HP, and IBM. There are other vendors producing eight-way Intel servers (e.g. Unisys, Hitachi), but we do not believe they will be (serious) market share competitors. (Market share figures for Intel servers is shown in Table 1 and Graph 1.) In general, the Intel server market is growing, and these products will satisfy pent-up demand, but we do not expect the volumes to be significant (when compared to four-way servers) until next year.
Fig. 1
Table 1: Intel Server Market Share 2Q '99
| : | WW | US |
| Compaq | 32.7 | 36 |
| Dell | 14.7 | 23.3 |
| IBM | 15.7 | 12.6 |
| HP | 11.8 | 9.5 |
| Others | 25.1 | 18.6 |
Product Strategy and Trajectory
Compaq is positioning the ProLiant 8X00 series to address a number of markets:
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External to the customer: ERP, E-commerce
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Internal to the customer: mail and messaging, terminal servers
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General: Data warehousing, datacenters
Compaq is highlighting a number of areas where it feels it has a competitive advantage: Performance, price/performance, and technology. In addition to their traditional strength in price/performance and performance, Compaq has an inside track on Profusion's design, due to their co-development efforts with Intel and Corollary (developer of Profusion, bought by Intel in 1996). Since this chipset is the heart of the eight-way architecture, Compaq has gained a short term advantage.
Because of the relatively low price approximately $20K base price (vs. $7-$8K for a four-CPU base unit) -some "cannibalization" of four-CPU markets is expected.
Although the eight-way servers (in general) are now the "biggest kid on the [Intel] block", this position is expected to last only until Merced/McKinley arrive 12 months from now for Merced (80% probability), two years for McKinley (60% probability). Since McKinley, not Merced, is expected to provide the performance leap, this should give the current eight-way servers approximately 18-24 months at the top of the Intel scale. After that, these systems become "mid-range" products. Until Merced ships, we expect the worldwide market size for eight-way servers to be approximately $5-$8 Billion. (Note: Merced will not immediately "cannibalize" the market for eight-way servers, because of the change from the current IA-32 architecture to Merced's IA-64 architecture. This change will effect much more than hardware, and therefore migration will not be immediate.)
Product Strengths
8000:
Feature Set/Flexibility: The ProLiant 8000 is presently the only eight-way server from the "Big Four" server manufacturers which can stand alone all the others (including the ProLiant 8500) are rack-based. (So is the 8000, at 14U high, but there is a tower conversion kit for it.) Additionally, the 8000 can house up to 21 disk drives, allowing lots of raw storage space, but also providing the flexibility for a large RAID setup.
Price/Performance:Based on present $/tpmC results from the TPC, Compaq continues to be a price/performance leader ($18.70/tpmC). We expect this leadership to continue, with the only serious competition expected to be from Dell. The raw performance numbers are also very good (>40,000 tpmC), but we expect Dell to post similar numbers within three months (60% probability).
8500:
Storage: The 8500 has four hot-swappable hard drive bays, more than any major competitor (except the ProLiant 8000). Although it is not a targeted application, this capability does allow the customer to have an internal RAID setup.
Serviceability: The 8500 is almost completely modular: all of the major components Main Logic Board (MLB), power supplies, fans, I/O cards, hard disk drives - can be swapped (by the customer) quickly, without tools. This also allows a customer to install a 20-lb. chassis at the top of a six-foot-high rack and add subunits one at a time this is in contrast to trying to mount a 100+ lb. unit, as has been typical in the industry.
Price/Performance: The 8500's figures ($18.46/tpmC) are even better than the 8000, and are approximately $1.50/tpmC better than the Unisys Aquanta E2085. However, we expect Dell to post figures similar to Compaq's within three months.
Size: At 7U high, this system is the same size as Compaq's four-way offerings (except the PL 6400R), and thus capable of a "box upgrade" (euphemism for "pull out the old system box, put in one of these") for earlier ProLiant models, or for systems made by Dell and HP. IBM, at 8U high, is at a competitive disadvantage here.
General:
Technology: As mentioned earlier, Compaq co-developed the Profusion with Corollary/Intel. This has already provided Compaq with a slight (~2-3 weeks) advantage with regard to which manufacturer ships eight-way systems first. However, we expect more significant benefit to come from the system's logic design, and any performance or feature advantages that Compaq's engineers can design into the system.
In addition, Compaq's use of "heat pipes" (a cooling technology) allows slightly greater design flexibility (and greater thermal margin) vs. the more conventional use of extruded aluminum heatsinks.
Service/Support: ProLiant servers benefit from Compaq's service/support capabilities (from the Digital acquisition). Although customer-serviceable components are becoming the norm, there is still a strong need for vendor support.
Product Challenges
8000:
No Integrated SCSI Controller Although performance issues make it desirable for customers to buy add-in SCSI controller(s), they should not be required to do so just to get a working storage subsystem.
Ergonomics The CD, floppy, and removable media devices are in the wrong place if the unit is freestanding who wants to bend that far over just to put in a CD or diskette or tape (for backup)?
8500:
No removable media devices: The box is tightly packaged, but having at least one additional media bay would be beneficial to customers.
RAM Capabilities: Profusion can support up to 32GB of RAM. Although Compaq feels customers will never need/use more than the 16GB Compaq provides, having the flexibility to expand would be helpful to a customer.
General:
PCI Slots: Compaq provides only two 66 MHz slots, half of its competition. Since the same I/O board is used in both products, this comment applies to both.
Corporate Issues: Dell has been gaining ground on Compaq, and Compaq has been "distracted" due to problems with the Digital acquisition. Those problems appear to be subsiding, and we expect Compaq to return to its former focus within 12 months (70% probability), but they are not there yet.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/compaq-s-8-cpu-intel-servers-the-new-big-iron-15170/
Compaq, Dell Announce Eight-Way Intel Servers
This means that Intel/NT servers are starting to move into the performance band historically owned by Unix servers. As this trend continues, non-Intel servers will have a tougher time gaining customers in anything but the very-high-end market. Four-way servers now get pushed down into the mid-range segment, which will result in price pressures. Compaq and Dell have a slight timing advantage (re: shipments) - IBM and HP, although they announced their competing systems in June, are not expected to ship systems until late September. This will reinforce the idea that the Intel server battle is now between Compaq and Dell, with everyone else trying to catch them. Demand is not expected to be high immediately, but is expected to grow - especially if Merced slips beyond September, 2000 (20% probability), and customers look for a transition product to "tide them over" until Merced ships. In addition, eight-way servers will hasten customers' server consolidation, replacing four older two-CPU models with one eight-CPU. (Note that this consolidation will not be appropriate for everyone, nor should it be.)
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/compaq-dell-announce-eight-way-intel-servers-15345/
Flaw in Intel Xeon 550 Chips: Shipments Stopped
Intel Corporation officials confirmed that the company has put a hold on shipping two versions of its 550-MHz Pentium III Xeon chips to OEMs for at least two weeks because of a bug that is causing eight-way servers to freeze on boot-up.
To this point the glitch has been limited to versions of the chip containing the 512Kb and 1MB caches. Vendors such as Compaq, who have chosen not to utilize the Saber motherboard, have not experienced any problems to date.
Market Impact
In the short term, this will put a damper on the overall eight-CPU Intel server market, because vendors will be unable to ship systems, and some customers will delay purchases until they see that the problem has been fully resolved. This puts Dell Computer and Hewlett-Packard at a disadvantage, since they use the Saber board set as the core of their servers. Compaq Computer will have both a short-term advantage and potential disadvantage. The disadvantage arises from the possibility of the marketplace not differentiating between the Saber-based and non-Saber-based servers, thereby lumping Compaq's unaffected servers with those that are affected. Compaq's advantage comes from having an even greater head start on Dell and HP. The long-term effects on the overall market (assuming Intel solves the problem 95+% probability) will be negligible, since the overall demand for eight-way servers will not decrease. Compaq should accrue some long-term benefit, especially if customers decide that Compaq's development engineers add more value than the competition does.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/flaw-in-intel-xeon-550-chips-shipments-stopped-15338/
Dell's 8-CPU Intel Servers Increasing Its Enterprise Focus
Dell Computer Corporation began shipments of its eight-CPU Intel server, the PowerEdge 8450. The PowerEdge 8450 is part of the next generation of Intel servers (along with offerings from Compaq, HP, IBM, and others) which utilize the Profusion chipset. (This chipset allows servers to break through the previous limitation of four CPUs for the Intel architecture.) The PE 8450 is based on Intel's OCPRF100 server (also known as "Saber"), which Dell has modified to improve its serviceability and to add an improved peripheral bay.
This product is geared toward the enterprise computing segment. As with most enterprise-class servers, the 8450 must be racked, and needs other hardware (primarily disk drives) to support its configuration. This product is aimed at the large datacenter/data warehouse environments, as well as other large-scale computing environments. The 8450 will also be used to consolidate and upgrade existing servers.
Dell's main competitors in this space are Compaq, HP, and IBM. There are other vendors producing eight-way Intel servers (e.g. Unisys, Hitachi), but we do not believe they will be serious market share competitors. (Market share figures for Intel servers is shown in Table 1 and Graph 1.) In general, the Intel server market is growing, and these products will satisfy pent-up demand, but we do not expect the volumes to be significant (when compared to four-way servers) until next year.
Fig. 1
Table 1: Intel Server Market Share 2Q '99
| : | WW | US |
| Compaq | 32.7 | 36 |
| Dell | 14.7 | 23.3 |
| IBM | 15.7 | 12.6 |
| HP | 11.8 | 9.5 |
| Others | 25.1 | 18.6 |
Product Strategy and Trajectory
Dell is positioning the PowerEdge 8450 series to address business-critical applications in three key market areas:
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Compute- and memory-intense applications (e.g. large databases)
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Enterprise messaging (e.g. MS Exchange)
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Multi-user Windows NT applications
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Server consolidation and scalable enterprise computing
Clearly, Dell is focusing on large enterprises and enterprise applications. In addition to its aggressive and focused growth in the last three years, Dell is now moving toward being a complete solution provider. This is evident from the recent deal with IBM Global Services for customer service and support, as well as the recent contract where the PowerEdge servers will run Sun's Solaris operating system.
Although the eight-way servers (in general) are now the most powerful Intel servers available, this position is expected to last only until Merced/McKinley arrive 12 months from now for Merced (80% probability), two years for McKinley (60% probability). Since McKinley, not Merced, is expected to provide the performance leap, this should give the current eight-way servers approximately 18-24 months at the top of the Intel scale. After that, these systems become "mid-range" products. Until Merced ships, we expect the market size for eight-way servers to be approximately $5-$8 Billion. (Note: Merced will not immediately "cannibalize" the market for eight-way servers, because of the change from the current IA-32 architecture to Merced's IA-64 architecture. This change will effect much more than hardware, and therefore migration will not be immediate.)
Product Strengths
Performance and Price/Performance: Dell's record of excellent price/performance is expected to continue with the PE 8450. We expect the only close competition to be from Compaq ($18.46/tpmC for the ProLiant 8500). We also expect Dell to meet or exceed Compaq's mark of 40,368 tpmC (also for the ProLiant 8500) within three months.
I/O Feature Set: Dell has provided PCI Hot Plug for Windows NT 4.0, correcting a deficiency present in the PowerEdge 6300/6350. In addition, the PE 8450 has four 66 MHz PCI slots, more than the two available from Compaq.
Serviceability: The PowerEdge 8450 has tool-free access to, and removal of, all the key components about which a customer (or service technician) would care: power supplies, fans, disk drives, PCI slots. These features exceed those available in the Intel design, but Compaq's ProLiant 8X00 holds a slight edge here.
General:
Dell's customer satisfaction is very high, we expect that will continue.
Product Challenges
Incomplete OS Support: Until the end of October, the 8450 will only support the various versions of Windows NT, in contrast to the competition which offers Novell NetWare, SCO UNIX/UnixWare, et al. (Solaris support will be available in late October, NetWare is scheduled to be available in late November.) Windows NT is not yet considered a robust enterprise-class OS, so the lack of alternatives is a deficiency. Dell will certify other OSes (through its DellPlus group), but this is a less compelling message than having those OSes installed in a production environment.
AC Voltage Support: The PowerEdge 8450 requires 208VAC, unlike Compaq's ProLiant 8000 and 8500, which can run off either 110 VAC or 208 VAC. Although 208VAC is required for either system (Compaq or Dell) to run a fully-loaded server, having the option is a modest benefit.
Redundancy: Although Dell's system provides redundancy in most subsystems (fans, power supplies, etc.), there are a couple of areas where there could be improvement. In the power subsystem, Dell has redundant power supplies, while Compaq has redundant Voltage Regulator Modules (VRMs) in addition to the redundant system supplies. (Note that redundant supplies have become a requirement not an added feature for enterprise class systems.) For cooling: the system is characterized by Dell as N+1 redundant, that is five fans plus one backup fan. Customers may prefer 2N redundancy, for a broader safety margin.
General:
Technology: As mentioned earlier, Dell purchases the board set directly from Intel. Given that, the logical conclusion would be that Intel would be able to release this system for shipment before Compaq could ship the ProLiant 8X00. However, this has not happened, due to the current problems with some of the Xeon 550 MHz processors and how they work with the Saber board set (See TEC's News Analysis: "Flaw in Intel Xeon 550 Chip Set: Shipments Stopped" September 29th, 1999). This is not Dell's fault, and it will not be a long-term problem, but the situation bears scrutiny nonetheless.
Vendor Recommendations
Although Dell has made its name in the Windows NT market, it should consider offering more than just one factory-installed operating system. UNIX is not dead, and the acquisition of ConvergeNet (with its ability to operate SANs in heterogeneous OS environments) should lead Dell into more than just NT. The ConvergeNet acquisition also allows Dell to provide a more flexible SAN solution than it had previously, and Dell should market this aspect aggressively. Using the DellPlus organization to provide installation and support for other OSes is a way of addressing this, but customers may prefer a factory installed solution.
Dell should use its clout with Intel to get power supplies that operate in either voltage range (110/208 VAC), since this puts Dell at a disadvantage relative to Compaq and IBM.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/dell-s-8-cpu-intel-servers-increasing-its-enterprise-focus-15171/
IBM’s Newest NUMA-Q Server to Handle 64 Intel CPUs
IBM introduced the world's most powerful Intel-based server, the 64-processor NUMA-Q E410, along with the industry's most affordable technology-leading two-way server, the Netfinity 3500 M20. These products represent the high-end and the low-end of the industry's most scalable Intel-based server line for e-businesses running Windows 2000 and Linux environments.
Powered by Intel's new 700 MHz Pentium III Xeon processors, the NUMA-Q E410 has shattered the industry's foremost data warehousing performance benchmark doubling the result of Hewlett Packard's top-of-the-line V-series server at nearly half the cost. TPC-H results may be viewed by visiting their web site at: http://www.tpc.org/New_Result/TPCH_Results.html.
"IBM is enabling customers to build intelligent infrastructures on their own terms with UNIX, Linux or Windows 2000 application environments," said Rod Adkins, general manager, IBM Web Servers. "Our NUMACenter framework allows customers to seamlessly manage IBM's entire line of Intel-based servers with upward integration into higher level management infrastructures."
Key Features of the NUMA-Q E410
High Performance and Scalability: NUMA-Q systems scale from 4 to 64 processors and 64 GB memory in a single system, far exceeding any other Intel-based system on the market. NUMA-Q near linear scalability is enabled by its unique four-processor "quad" building block architecture, which allows customers to add balanced I/O and memory as they add processors.
High Availability: NUMA-Q's "mainframe style" multi-path I/O and switched fabric fiber channel SAN (Storage Area Network) capabilities provide a platform with no single point of subsystem failure. Further enhancing availability is connectivity with IBM Enterprise Storage Server featuring multi-port capability, which maximizes I/O by evenly distributing it over all available interface ports for maximum bandwidth. IBM backs NUMA-Q's outstanding availability with the option of aggressive, customer-specific service level agreements. Working closely with IBM, customers have achieved sustained availability ratings of 99.999%.
Investment Protection: The NUMA-Q architecture allows customers to fully leverage their IT investments while taking advantage of the latest technology. NUMA-Q E410 quads are compatible with all existing NUMA-Q servers which support multiple generations of Intel processors in a single system.
NUMACenter: NUMACenter is a pre-integrated environment combining Netfinity application and web servers running Windows 2000 or Linux and a NUMA-Q database server with a consolidated SAN and systems management including Tivoli software and the Advanced Detection Availability Manager (ADAM). NUMACenter is ideal for rapid deployment and growth of enterprise applications and is widely used by application service providers and e-businesses requiring a highly scalable and flexible compute environment.
NUMA-Q E410 began shipping on May 22 with an entry price of $69,000.
Market Impact
The projected market impact is a tough call on this one. The performance on the TPC-H scale is excellent, and the uptime figure of 99.999% is pretty good (equating to approximately 5 minutes of downtime per year). The uptime is superior to Windows NT-based systems, and the performance is better than HP's Unix offerings (at least, of the ones tested to TPC-H). In a more mainstream package, these figures would help IBM/Sequent (IBM purchased Sequent for their NUMA-Q offerings/architecture) gain sales volume and market share. One caveat: the "five 9s" uptime comment in the press release mentions customers "working closely with IBM" to achieve these figures. This implies that the "average Joe" will not necessarily achieve those results. IBM should provide figures from customers who haven't had their hands held so much.
An area of concern for us is IBM's entire NUMA-Q strategy. IBM appears to be tentative regarding where in the organization the NUMA-Q architecture and systems should reside. Presently they are under the aegis of the Web Server group, run by GM Rodney Adkins out of Austin. However, IBM's announcement clearly played up that they consider NUMA-Q to be an extension of the Intel-based Netfinity server line, run by GM John Callies. In many companies, where a product "resides" is often a case of: in whom the "Executive Committee" prefers to place their trust. We believe that both Mr. Adkins and Mr. Callies are doing excellent jobs leading their respective groups, so the management-quality issue is not a factor. This leaves it to the more prosaic criterion of architectural "fit". Although we can see how the high-end nature of the E410 might lean it toward the Web Server side, we believe that the Intel nature ultimately tips it toward the Netfinity side - especially as Intel processors and servers improve performance and robustness.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/ibm-s-newest-numa-q-server-to-handle-64-intel-cpus-15878/
Intel 820 Chipset Delays Again, Again, Again…
Timna, Intel's first so-called "Smart Integration" microprocessor, will be delayed until early 2001.
The delay comes in the heels of related problems with Intel's 820 chipset. Most recently, Intel announced a recall of 820-based motherboards using a memory translator hub (MTH) to connect SDRAM memory. [See also Intel Faces 820 Chipset Problems (Again).] The Timna delay is related to the MTH problems - an Intel spokesman announced that the chipmaker would design an all-new MTH.
Separately, Intel has indicated that it will no longer support SDRAM for the 820 chipset, recommending the 815 chipset instead. [TEC had predicted this earlier in the year.]
Market Impact
Timna was originally scheduled for late 2000 release. It was conceived as a computer-on-a-chip, integrating processing, I/O, audio, video, and edge connections. Obviously, even Intel can't get everything on one chip, not yet, anyway.
The market winner here is AMD, whose Duron value-line processor is already available and shipping. This means that Intel's current value PC strategy - Celeron processors - will remain in place until next year.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/intel-820-chipset-delays-again-again-again-15918/
Intel Delays Shipment of 820 Chipset
Intel Corp. will delay, indefinitely, the launch of its 820 chipset, the second chip delay announced by Intel this week. The 820 chipset is intended to replace the 440BX chipset currently used with Pentium II and Pentium III processors. Intel says the 820 chipset will improve overall system performance by reducing bottlenecks in memory performance and graphic performance. Rambus (whose memory forms the base for the 820) is currently trying to "resolve several flaws" in its product.
Market Impact
PC vendors have been waiting for the 820 chipset for some time, but this latest delay has caused some (including Compaq and Dell) to put 820-based PC shipments on hold. The overall market will suffer slightly, but the greater potential impact is to Intel's reputation. The 820 problem is the second major chip or chip set problem within a week. (see News Analysis: "Flaw in Intel Xeon 550 Chips: Shipments Stopped" 9/29/99) Intel has suffered blows to its credibility in the past (e.g. the infamous "Pentium flaw" a few years ago), and has always recovered - often coming back even stronger. However, at some point, systems vendors may look to work more closely with other chip vendors to have an alternative to the Intel hegemony.
Coupled with the problems is the growing belief that Rambus memory provides insufficient performance boost for the premium price being charged. (An 820 chip set system w/Rambus technology is expected to perform about the same as a 440BX system with SDRAM, but at a cost of $6/MB for Rambus Dynamic RAM, vs. $3/MB for pre-Taiwan-earthquake SDRAM).
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/intel-delays-shipment-of-820-chipset-15339/
Intel's "New Best Friend" for Web Appliances is Linux
Interactive Edition] - Intel has announced a brand of Web appliances that don't use Microsoft's Windows operating software. Instead, the new devices will run on the Linux operating system, which many customers are concluding is ideal for simple Web-surfing machines.
According to Claude Leglise, vice president of Intel's architecture business group and head of its home products group, these appliances will be geared toward the home/consumer market, and will initially be made by consumer electronics manufacturers.
Besides making the appliances, due to begin shipping sometime this year, Intel is also packaging all the necessary software and services, such as management software that service providers can use to upgrade the software in the appliances remotely. To deliver such services, such as tying together all home message-recording services, Intel signed an agreement with Telcordia Technologies Inc. of Morristown, N.J., the former Bellcore research center. With the technology, a customer could use the appliance to look at e-mail and read a list of messages, whether they be e-mail messages, paging messages or voice mail.
Market Impact
Microsoft cannot be happy about this announcement - this is a big win for the Linux community. Intel's decision to reduce system costs by eliminating the license fee(s) associated with Windows means MS may be losing out on "owning" this potentially large market. Compaq's recent decision to use BeOS on its future Internet appliances only compounds Redmond's problems. With the Palm OS owning approximately 80% of the handheld market, with Windows CE a distant second, Microsoft risks being consigned to the middle of the market, with Unix and various enterprise-class OSes at the high end.
We expect one of the immediate effects to be an aggressive Microsoft push of Windows CE. In addition, this announcement may cause Microsoft to reduce prices significantly for its non-CE operating systems, although we think that unlikely (25% probability). What we think is more likely, although more difficult to do, is Microsoft trying to co-opt Linux (often referred to "embrace and extend"), so that they can own at least part of that market.
We also see Be, Inc., producer of BeOS, as a potential loser in this market. BeOS-adherents love it as an operating system, but Linux may gain the upper hand because of its greater presence in both the larger-hardware and software applications markets.
In general, this is a boost for a market still in its relative infancy. We believe Intel will end up garnering a large portion of this market, either under its own badge or through third-party vendors. This means consolidation, which we expect to take place within 18 months.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/intel-s-new-best-friend-for-web-appliances-is-linux-15310/
Intel Tries to Give it Away - AMD Says "No Way"
PC Week] - Intel Corp. has disclosed a problem involving its 820 and 840 chip sets that has spurred the company to scrap plans for three motherboards it had on its server road map. But while an Intel representative stressed that the problem would likely affect only a few users, some analysts said the trouble may indicate a flaw in a crucial component used to configure the boards with SDRAM.
The trouble arose when Intel's 820 and 840 chip sets, which were designed to take advantage of speedier Rambus memory, RDRAM, were configured to work with SDRAM.
According to Intel, memory errors may result from the combined use of the memory repeater hub (known as MRH-S), which is used to translate native RDRAM support to SDRAM, and ECC (error correction coding). Intel said it believes few customers will be affected, since most 820 and 840 chip-set customers using ECC, commonly in workstation and servers, are likely to have gone with Rambus memory for greater performance.
However, customers seeking a lower-cost server or workstation solution may have elected to go with less-expensive SDRAM over RDRAM in order to get the highest amount of memory for their money.
"We are informing vendors that certain server platforms using the memory repeater hub as well as the error correction coding have been experiencing memory issues or errors," said Dan Francisco, an Intel spokesman.
If the problem is actually tied to just the memory translation hub, it could spell big trouble for Intel, said Mike Feibus, principal analyst at Mercury Research in Scottsdale, Ariz. "We're predicting that more than half of the 840 chip sets that will ship this quarter will be configured with SDRAM," Feibus said. "So if there's trouble with the memory translator, that could pose major problems for Intel."
A spokesman for Dell Computer Corp. said the company has avoided packaging SDRAM with 820 and 840 chip sets after it became aware of the problem a couple of weeks ago. A representative at Compaq Computer Corp., which sells workstations with SDRAM, said the company has been made aware of the problem and is working with Intel to resolve it. Officials at Hewlett-Packard, which also sells systems packaging SDRAM with the 820 and 840 chip sets, were not immediately available for comment.
Industry analyst Kevin Knox said that, while he was unaware of the problem, he's not surprised. "Anytime you put a translator in there (i.e., the memory translator hub), you're asking for trouble," he said.
"The 820 and 840 chip sets were not designed for SDRAM," Knox said. "So trying to make them work with SDRAM posed an obvious risk of introducing errors."
The problems involving the memory translator and error correction coding came to light after Intel informed vendors that it was scrapping plans for three chip sets targeted for use in servers.
The chip sets, known by the code names Pine, Hemlock, and Willow, were developed based on the 820 and 840 chip-set designs. Intel had planned to design the boards to accommodate dual processors configured with SDRAM. "We are working to resolve the issue and expect to fix it in the next 'stepping' of the parts," Francisco said. The 820 chip set's introduction was initially delayed last fall due to a platform integration issue involving Rambus. The problem was addressed by altering the motherboard from its original three-slot RIMM configuration to a two-slot RIMM configuration.
Market Impact
This is a short-term black eye for Intel, but in the longer term it will weather the impact from this problem. If Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) had a server offering, Intel would pay a significantly higher price, both in terms of the hit to its reputation and the advantage AMD would gain. Since Intel is the only game in town for the x86-architecture servers, AMD will not gain anything other than a PR bullet for taking potshots at Intel. (More on this below.)
Market growth will be dampened for the next few months, until Intel can fix the problem. It is unlikely that non-x86 servers will be able to capitalize on this issue, since the two architectures generally compete on other measures than whether SDRAM works in the motherboard.
Regarding the Intel-AMD battle: until recently, Intel was perceived as being nearly invulnerable in the CPU and system markets - AMD competed on price and performance, but customers still tended to go with "Intel inside", especially when Intel kept lowering prices in response to AMD.
In the last six months, Intel has started to show signs of weakness; specifically, the 'Saber' eight-way main board issues, the 'Coppermine' problems, and the supply chain problems which led Gateway to go back to AMD. Alone, these issues would be annoying to customers, but taken together they seem to point to Intel having taken their eye off the ball.
Users who see AMD as a potential server alternative to Intel have been waiting for about a year since the "Poseidon" chipset was first discussed. The recent (since July, 1999) silence from AMD makes us wonder whether Poseidon (now called HotRail) will become reality, and thus give Intel some multiprocessor competition.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/intel-tries-to-give-it-away-amd-says-no-way-15294/
Intel Invests in eSoft - "Lintel" Continues to Grow
[CNET News.com]LAS VEGAS--Intel has invested in eSoft, a maker of Linux-based servers for small businesses, the chip giant's fourth Linux investment.
The amount of the investment was not disclosed. Under a deal with Intel also announced today, Intel will help the company develop software for Linux servers designed to be used on the Internet.
"We are confident this support will enable eSoft to accelerate our future research, development and business expansion activities," eSoft Chief Executive Jeff Finn said in a statement.
Intel's first Linux investment was in Red Hat, the leading seller of the Unix-like operating system. Since then, Intel also has invested in VA Linux Systems, a maker of Linux computers that is about to go public, and in TurboLinux, another Linux seller whose strategy is to add proprietary software on top of the operating system.
Market Impact
Coupled with Intel's recent decision to make Red Hat Linux available on their servers (See TEC News Analysis article: "Intel Throws its 'Red Hat' into Linux Ring", November 3rd, 1999), as well as their investments in VA Linux and TurboLinux, this continues a significant push by Intel to develop a "Lintel" presence. Linux already ships on approximately 15% of the servers sold in the US, this announcement will help increase that percentage. As Intel increasingly throws its weight behind Linux, the Linux market will grow.
This alliance will not lead to immediate consolidation, since the Linux server market is presently expanding with many entrants trying to create a leadership presence.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/intel-invests-in-esoft-lintel-continues-to-grow-15325/
Intel Throws its "Red Hat" into Linux Ring
Red Hat said on Tuesday that Intel plans to make Red Hat Linux software available on powerful server computers designed to run websites.
Red Hat said Intel plans to bundle the Red Hat Linux operating system on servers Intel is supplying to ISPs1 . Intel has launched a program aimed at boosting its share of the server market, which has been dominated by Sun Microsystems, whose computers use Sun's own chips instead of Intel's.
Market Impact
Although 90% of Linux installations are on Intel systems, Intel's decision gives more legitimacy to the efforts to increase Linux's market and mind share. This announcement will help increase Intel's presence in the ISP market, but we believe the greater impact will be on the Linux and OS markets. Combined with the recent support of Dell, Compaq, and Gateway, this will increase Linux market growth. Growth will be primarily at the expense of Sun, because of its current dominance of the ISP market.
The combination of this event and Intel's enabling of Gigabit Ethernet performance on Linux (by virtue of the drivers for their PRO/1000 Gigabit Server Adapter) indicates that Intel is committed to Linux for the near term.
We do not expect this to cause market consolidation in the short term (12 months), but rather a leveling among market share figures between Solaris/Unix/Linux. Linux will not overtake Solaris, just get closer.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/intel-throws-its-red-hat-into-linux-ring-15331/
Intel Faces 820 Chipset Problems (Again)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - May 10, 2000 - Intel Corporation [NASDAQ:INTC] announced that it would replace motherboards that have a defective memory translator hub (MTH) component that translates signals from SDRAM memory to the Intel 820 chipset. The MTH is only used with motherboards utilizing SDRAM and the Intel 820 chipset. The MTH began shipping in November 1999; therefore systems shipped before that time are unaffected by this issue.
Intel has identified system noise issues with the MTH that can cause some systems to intermittently reset, reboot and/or hang. In addition, the noise issue can, under extreme conditions, potentially cause data corruption. In some instances the company has been able to induce data corruption under synthetic stress testing in its laboratories.
Market Impact
The 820 chipset was conceived as a performance-oriented component. The key differences between the 820 chipset and the "value oriented" 810 are the addition of AGP4X graphics support and RDRAM in the 820. RDRAM provides a theoretical maximum bandwidth of 1.6GB/s, twice the access speed of SDRAM. On the other hand, it costs about $100 more.
This is another black eye for Intel, and a market opportunity for rival chipmaker Advanced Micros Devices [NYSE:AMD]. SDRAM on 820 was a "margin saver", and Intel won't have a working SDRAM compatible 820 chipset until Q3 2000. AMD is unaffected by the problem.
The major PC vendors have different exposures on this issue.
Dell
According to Dell [NASDAQ:DELL] Vice Chairman Kevin Rollins, Dell engineers discovered the problem early, and committed instead to Rambus technology. Dell users are unaffected.
Compaq
TechnologyEvaluation.Com spoke with senior Compaq [NYSE:CPQ] officials, who confirmed that Compaq had not used the MTH in its 820-based motherboards.
IBM
IBM [NYSE:IBM] has stated that they are "unaffected", since only RDRAM is used on IBM's 820-based motherboards.
Hewlett Packard
Unfortunately, Hewlett Packard [NYSE:HWP] has used the 820/SDRAM combination is some of its systems, such as the Kayak XM600. HP has not yet announced a repair/replacement policy.
Gateway
According to Gateway, although Gateway uses SDRAM extensively, it has never deployed the 820 chipset and customers are unaffected.
Others
The systems builders with the most exposure are the so-called "white box" vendors - the small local "screwdriver shops" that assemble systems to order. Many of these use SDRAM with the 820 to shave costs. Intel expects its forthcoming 815 chipset, with SDRAM support, to debut in Q2 2000, sooner than the "fixed" 820 chipset. We forecast a 70% likelihood that the 815 will quell demand for SDRAM support on the 820.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/intel-faces-820-chipset-problems-again-15818/
Intel Outside
Intel Online Services, Inc., the Internet application hosting subsidiary of Intel Corporation, announced their AppChoice Managed Hosting Services, designed for customers who want control of their mission-critical applications along with the benefits of a fully managed, outsourced hosting solution.
AppChoice offers a hosting platform that includes hardware, operating system and applications, as well as the networking, infrastructure and data protection components of a reliable e-business solution.
The AppChoice services provide a foundation onto which application service providers, e-business solution providers, systems integrators and other developers and customers can integrate their e-business applications. In addition, Intel Online Services provides tools that allow customers to monitor and control their chosen hosted applications. AppChoice services come with service level agreements and guaranteed response times. Personnel are available to monitor application performance 24 hours a day with tailored responses and user-defined alerts.
AppChoice is part of Intel Online Services' selection of service offerings, which range from fully managed and integrated e-business solutions to co-location services.
Market Impact
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Intel Online Services Inc., an Intel subsidiary, is a supplier of hosted Internet services, business applications, and e-commerce services worldwide.
Intel Online Services currently offers data centers in Santa Clara, Calif.; Chantilly, Va.; Reading, England; Seoul, Korea; and Tokyo, Japan; a new data center in India is scheduled to open within the next month. In all, Intel Online Services plans to invest $1 billion by the end of 2001 to develop and integrate Internet data centers worldwide.
With communication giants such as AT&T, Lucent, WorldCom, and Nortel offering infrastructure programs, it is no surprise computer and networking manufactures are making similar offers. With an established global network and extensive resources Intel represents a formidable participant in the nascent outsourcing infrastructure market.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/intel-outside-15983/
Gateway, Jilted by Intel, Kisses and Makes Up with AMD
Gateway Inc. has reversed its earlier decision to drop Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CPUs. Gateway's executives have criticized Intel Corp., coming close to blaming it for Gateway's poor financial performance in the last quarter.
As Gateway officials announced late Wednesday that the company's fourth-quarter earnings would fail to meet expectations, they also strongly hinted that the company would be seeking an alternative chip supplier. The financial warning, the officials said, was due in large part to Gateway's inability to obtain needed processors and motherboards.
"Let me say that it's an understatement when I tell you that we're all intensely frustrated by the supply situation we found ourselves put in," said Jeff Weitzen, Gateway's president and CEO, during a conference call announcing the company's lower earnings forecast. "We are not about to stand by and let the actions of others dictate what products Gateway customers can buy."
Gateway Chief Financial Officer John Todd said a shortage of Intel Corp. microprocessors and motherboards trimmed $200 million to $250 million from fourth-quarter revenue. Citing a shortage of processors and motherboards, Todd said, "We didn't have the products to deliver on the sweet spot." Gateway defines that "sweet spot" as PCs that range in price from $999 to $1,299, which come configured with Intel's motherboards and Celeron processors. "We never knew what we were going to get, when we were going to get it, so we never had a coherent marketing strategy," Todd said. "Part of the reason why this sweet spot is so important is [that] in the third quarter it was 55 percent of our [revenue] mix," Todd said.
An Intel spokesman declined to comment on Gateway's claims, saying that the Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker is in a "quiet period" before the release of its own fourth-quarter earnings.
Market Impact
Bad news for Intel, good news for AMD, good news for the PC market in general. Gateway "dropped" AMD as a supplier barely three months ago, after Intel cut their prices enough to make it worth Gateway's while. We anticipated that would last until Intel got complacent, although we believed that complacency would be manifested through price increases, not poor delivery of product. However, we do not believe the new state of affairs will last forever, either. Expect to see AMD and Intel jockey back and forth. Since AMD has more at stake than Intel by virtue of Intel's vastly superior market share and strength, we expect them to keep pushing in this area, i.e. $1000-$1300 PCs.
Market growth (PCs) will be unaffected, except as it relates to Gateway sales lost due to its inability to ship systems. This is a bump in the road, not a trend. The more significant market action we see is increased migration to Advanced Micro Devices CPUs. AMD will not overtake Intel anytime soon, except perhaps in market segments such as $1000 home PCs, but each victory gives them more market strength and credibility.
Long term, we expect considerable flux in this area, with AMD winning some battles, Intel winning others, and a lot of aggressive sales and marketing from both.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/gateway-jilted-by-intel-kisses-and-makes-up-with-amd-15308/
Will Intel Take a Loss on Each CPU, but Make It Up in Volume
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) may finally be able to break into Dell Computer Corporation's product line, according to sources quoted by Forbes.com. Reports indicate that Dell is negotiating to buy approximately 100,000 of AMD's upcoming "Spitfire" chip. Spitfire is expected to compete against Intel's Celeron chip, their low-end CPU. This report comes barely two months after CEO Michael Dell stated quite publicly that his company had no plans to use AMD chips (including the high-performance "Athlon", AMD's competitor to the Intel Pentium III). This would also mark the third or fourth high profile win for AMD in recent months (Gateway and Hewlett-Packard were the others.) There has been no mention of Dell considering any other chip than the Spitfire. When AMD started shipping its Athlon CPU, some observers expected Dell would consider it as an alternative for Pentium III - class machines. However, that has not happened as yet. AMD has suffered from the perception that it's manufacturing facilities were unable to provide the same level of service that Intel's fabs were, That perception appears to be changing as AMD gets more quarters of satisfied customers under its belt. Market Impact If this deal actually gets consummated, it is really bad news for Intel. Dell has been Intel's strongest supporter in the ranks of PC manufacturers, publicly refusing to consider AMD. We expect that if such a deal truly is under consideration, Intel will resort to the tactic of cutting a great deal with the manufacturer. This worked (for a short while) with Gateway, and also appears to be the reason Microsoft chose Intel for the CPU in its upcoming X-Box gaming console. If Intel decides to play the price-cut card, this will put a damper on Intel's profit expectations, since Dell now occupies the top position in U.S. PC sales, having passed Compaq last year. Because of the bus speed at which the Spitfire is expected to operate (200 MHz), its performance should exceed that of the Intel Celeron - the chip against which it's designed to compete. If AMD can post great performance numbers against Celeron, and keep prices down, then that's another market where Intel will feel AMD's breath on its neck. When AMD produces Sledgehammer, there's a reasonable chance it will give Itanium/Merced (Intel's future 64-bit CPU) a run for its money. In fact, Sledgehammer may hold a slight edge, due to its announced backward compatibility with x86 applications - something Itanium will not have. (Note that neither product will be here until at least September 2000, and AMD's claim of x86 compatibility must be thoroughly verified once the product ships.) If the deal goes through, the psychological boost will be huge for AMD. They have been trying to break Intel's hold on Dell systems, at least partially, for quite some time. Michael Dell has publicly talked about reasons he has/had no plans to use AMD. But as the saying goes, "Things change". The big question is: what will Intel do when AMD finally produces a chipset that will allow AMD CPUs to be used in a multiprocessor server. Presently, Intel owns that server space completely. (We of course mean Intel architecture servers. There are numerous variations of multiprocessor servers in other architectures.) If AMD can finally produce the HotRail chipset (which will make AMD multiprocessor servers possible), and make it work credibly, Intel will be in real trouble. SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/will-intel-take-a-loss-on-each-cpu-but-make-it-up-in-volume-15685/
Intel Reorganization
In April Intel Corporation announced it will merge its Architecture Business and Microprocessor Products groups into a new division.
Pat Gelsinger, discussed the changes in an interview following his keynote address at Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in New Orleans.
With the reorganization, Pat Gelsinger, vice president and general manager of Intel's desktop products group, will assume the title of chief technology officer and will oversee product implementations across all business groups. Intel said it would release further details of the reorganization later.
"We've been seeing the need for these actions for a while," he said. "We've been orienting our programs more to delivering solutions, put in place the processes to better communicate with our customers and align our roadmaps. We've been addressing those issues through incremental process and organizational improvement. I think it now became very clear that this is the way of the future."
Intel has been unable to produce sufficient supply to match the demands of its major customers, especially for the Celeron and Pentium III processors. In February, Intel said it was ramping up its production and predicted it would be able to meet supply needs by the end of the first quarter, but early in April company officials pushed back that timetable to June.
Intel has blamed the problems on a combination of unexpectedly high demand and lousy forecasting by industry analysts. Other analysts also believe Intel's efforts to become a networking powerhouse have contributed to its taking its eye off the ball.
Market Impact
Given all the apparent missteps Intel has made in the last year, we expected something like this to happen - we just expected it sooner. Intel still has 80+% of the market, to AMD's 17%, but AMD's string of successes has got to be making Intel CEO Craig Barrett a little nervous. Reorganizations typically mean that a company spends six to nine months trying to get their "ducks in a row" - getting everyone marching in the same direction - and we do not expect Intel to be any different. Advanced Micro Devices CEO Jerry Sanders must be loving this, but we do not expect him (nor AMD) to rest.
Looking at the overall market, we do not expect this move to increase market growth. Any growth in markets that occurs will be due to external-to-Intel market forces. We expect AMD to increase their market share at Intel's expense. Market consolidation is not an issue, because there are only two players left.
SPURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/intel-reorganization-15753/
Intel Chip Shortage Continuing
Dell Computer Corporation said it expected a revenue and earnings shortfall for this quarter. Among the reasons stated was a shortage of chips from Intel Corporation. Dell claims it lost approximately $300 million in sales due to its inability to meet demand for its high-end PCs. Intel is blaming the shortage on "upside demand", which means demand for the particular chips was significantly higher than forecast. In a recent statement, Intel has said it expects shortages to continue at least through February and possibly March.
"We've been able to meet our commitments. But we hadn't, in Q4, been able to meet upside demand," said Intel spokesman, Howard High. "We're still, as a company, working to get our capacity levels up to this (new) level that the industry is building (PCs) at."
Dell chief financial officer Thomas Meredith said the shortages also forced Dell to ship more expensive components in place of those it could not get, for example, replacing unavailable 450MHz Pentium III chips with more expensive 500MHz Pentium III chips. "We ate that difference in order to fill the demand that we created," Meredith said. On the high-end, "We didn't get the volumes we would have liked."
These problems come on the heels of the highly-publicized complaints by Gateway that Intel was unable to keep up with Gateway's requirements, resulting in lost revenues for Gateway.
Intel expects that its newest fabrication plant (to be called Fab 22), along with $800 million worth of its updates to its Hudson, Mass., fab, should help ease its supply situation in the long run.
Short-term relief should come from conversion of the company's New Mexico-based Fab 11 to manufacture processors on Intel's 0.18-micron process. This should be complete by the end of this quarter, High said. Fab 22, Intel's first fabrication plant to use 300mm wafers, is expected to come online in 2001. In addition to supply issues, there are also concerns about the Pentium III's "flip-chip" design - a package not uncommon in the industry, but new to Intel.
Market Impact
This is the latest in a series of problems for Intel. Although it is still the 800-lb. gorilla in the CPU market, it seems to be doing its best to provide an opening for Advanced Micro Devices to gain parity. After Intel muscled AMD out of Gateway through price cuts (See TEC News Analysis article: "Gateway Drops AMD"), it only took them about three months to blow the deal (See TEC News Analysis article: "Gateway, Jilted by Intel, Kisses and Makes Up with AMD"). Compound this with the bad press from the delays for the Coppermine chip, and the Rambus "fiasco", and Intel starts looking vulnerable.
But for Intel, like Scarlett O'Hara, there's always Tara, a/k/a Dell. Dell's success has been partly due to its extremely close relationship with Intel, and thus Dell is still an Intel-only house. We would have been surprised had Dell announced it was going to second-source AMD after only one quarter of missed deliveries. Michael Dell, however, is too good a businessman not to consider the AMD alternative. Our only question is whether it will be two strikes or three before Intel has company as Dell's CPU supplier.
AMD must certainly be happy about this, but obviously should not get complacent. In addition to capitalizing on Intel's woes in the present, they must also look to the future. The 300mm wafers to be used in Intel's "Fab 22" do not threaten AMD presently, but AMD will need to have its own 300mm facility to maintain a lower cost structure.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/intel-chip-shortage-continuing-15302/
AMD Earnings Beat the Street! Intel Earnings Beat the Street?
Spurred by heavy demand for chips in the first quarter, chip makers AMD and Intel announced sales and earnings estimates far in excess of what "Wall Street" had predicted. For Intel, earnings were 88 cents per share, vs. the expected 69 cents per share. But the real surprise was AMD: analysts expected earnings to be 58 cents per share, the actual results were $1.15 per share, almost double the estimates.
Closer inspection reveals that 17 cents of Intel's earnings came from a tax settlement with the IRS, which means the earnings was more like 71 cents per share. Still ahead of estimates, but not a barn-burner of a quarter. Then factor in the "extra" $140M Intel earned from investments (i.e., expected $500M vs. actual $640M) and a picture of operational weakness starts to appear. Although Intel is clearly trying to stake out a major portion of the networking market, the problems for its microprocessor business - its bread and butter - must be troubling to management.
Market Impact
About a year ago, maybe two, everyone thought the CPU wars were over, with Intel the victor. Cyrix was just about dead, and AMD looked like all it could do was deliver lower-priced Intel-like processors. Although AMD's revenues are still only a fraction of Intel's ($1.1B vs. $8B for the quarter), their growth rate is currently greater than Intel's. Intel and AMD have also been going through rounds of aggressive price cuts, with the end-users reaping the benefits.
Even with the price cuts on the Athlon CPU et al., AMD is destroying (in the good sense) Wall Street's estimates, which would seem to indicate that their volumes are increasing and their production costs are decreasing. We expect continued performance (AMD also handily beat street estimates last quarter) will start to get Intel a little nervous, if they aren't already. In addition, rumors have surfaced regarding Dell Computer considering adding AMD chips (most likely Spitfire, a Celeron competitor, refer to TEC News Analysis "Will Intel Take a Loss on Each CPU, but Make It Up in Volume?"). If that isn't enough to give Intel CEO Craig Barrett the heebie-jeebies, then maybe nothing will.
As we have mentioned in the past, one place where Intel is still the only game in town is PC servers - they aren't called "Intel-based" for nothing. When/if AMD gets the "HotRail" chipset working (which will allow AMD's CPUs to work in a multi-processor environment), Intel will have another 12-24 months of relative peace in that market. (Making a quality multiprocessor system is naturally more complex than a "uni", and we expect it to take AMD that long to figure out and fix all the issues / complexities / problems.)
Intel still owns the corporate desktop, but AMD is making inroads there as well.
Finally: we believe at least some of the great sales and earnings performance was due to pent-up demand from the pre-Y2K jitters. Thus, we do not expect sales to be as robust during the second quarter.
SOURCE:http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/amd-earnings-beat-the-street-intel-earnings-beat-the-street-15725/
Customized computer manufacturer graphics driver is detected
* The Intel® Driver Update Utility reports the following message: "A customized computer manufacturer driver is installed on your computer. The Intel Driver Update Utility is not able to update the driver. Installing a generic Intel driver instead of the customized computer manufacturer driver may cause technical issues. Contact your computer manufacturer for the latest driver for your computer."
* You are unable to install the Intel® graphics driver downloaded from the Intel Web site and encounter one of the following error messages: o Error: "The driver being installed is not validated for this computer. Please obtain the appropriate driver from the computer’s manufacturer. Setup will exit." o Error: "This driver could not be installed on this computer. Please contact the computer's manufacturer for further information."
SolutionObtain the appropriate graphics driver from your computer manufacturer and install. Your computer manufacturer recommends the Intel graphics drivers they have customized and validated for your specific computer model. Typically, these validated drivers can be downloaded from the computer manufacturer's Web site.
Intel provides generic versions of its graphics drivers for general purposes. However, the computer manufacturer may have altered the features, incorporated customizations, or made other changes to the graphics driver software or software packaging. To avoid any potential installation incompatibilities, Intel recommends that you first check with your computer manufacturer and use the driver software that the computer manufacturer provides.
Work-aroundA work-around is available if you choose not to use your computer manufacturer's validated graphics drivers and want to install Intel's generic graphics drivers instead. However, if you encounter problems with using the generic driver, Intel recommends reinstalling and using the validated drivers from your computer manufacturer.
The work-around involves using the Windows* "Have Disk/Known File" method for updating a driver. A disk is not needed. To apply the work-around, follow these steps:
* If you have Microsoft Windows* XP, click Have Disk Installation steps for Windows XP. * If you have Microsoft Windows Vista*, click Have Disk Installation steps for Windows Vista.
SOURCE:http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/CS-022355.htm
How to enable UDMA66 mode on Intel chipsets
* Make sure that the device supports UDMA66 mode. * Use an 80-pin IDE cable with the correct pin cut. * Add the following registry key:
1. Start Registry Editor.
Value Name: EnableUDMA66
4. Quit Registry Editor.
Next-Generation Intel Chipsets May Drop PCI Bus
As far as we're concerned, PCI can't die quickly enough. Intel began working on the standard 20 years ago and made it the preferred interconnect standard for second-generation Pentium systems as early as 1994. By 1999-2000, modern motherboards had all but dropped ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) and typically included just one slot per board. The then-new PCI standard supported a wide range of features ISA couldn't and offered 4x the bandwidth of the EISA bus.
The principle problem with PCI was its inability to scale either bit size or clockspeed. 64-bit PCI used a significantly larger physical slot, which made it more expensive, while the number of bus lines made increasing the base clockspeed tricky. Where consumer products were concerned, transfer speeds topped out at 133MB/s. This limitation led to the development of AGP, which was essentially a point-to-point PCI bus that supported additional features like sideband addressing and GART.
PCI Express x16 offers more than 6x the bandwidth of PCI-X, but uses a smaller slot
Modern devices—even PCI Express x1 devices—offer between 50-300 percent more bandwidth than PCI, depending on whether or not the PCI Express slot is a first or second-generation device. By the time PCI-Express 3.0 is finished, a single x1 connection will offer up to 800MB/s of bandwidth—6x more than first-generation PCI.
Backwards Compatibility Concerns:
The good news for consumers is that Intel's decision to drop PCI support should be all-but painless and may even improve peripheral performance in some cases. It's less common than it used to be, but some motherboard manufacturers still hang spare SATA/Ethernet/USB2 ports off the PCI bus, even though doing so adds latency and potentially reduces performance.
This decision may not sit well with users who rely on PCI slots for additional ports or video cards, but moving away from PCI is still a good idea, even if it penalizes small groups of people. The vast majority of add-in cards today are still built using PCI, but even a single mechanical hard drive can saturate its 133MB/s bus in certain circumstances. USB 3, next-generation FireWire, and RAID arrays are similarly pinched for bandwidth; we've reached the point where the PCI bus imposes a noticeable performance penalty on nearly every type of add-in card.
Unfortunately, the market as a whole is stuck in a reverse chicken/egg scenario. The majority of add-in cards are manufactured using PCI because it's the universal standard that everyone has and that people are most comfortable with. Because of this, manufacturers continue to use it, and thus perpetuate the cycle. Intel's clean break, when/if the company makes one, won't end PCI compatibility—third party manufacturers will continue to provide bridge chips—but it will send a signal to the computer industry as a whole that it's time to move on.
Next-generation products like SSDs, USB3, and even SATA 6G are only useful if their performance isn't handicapped by this sort of issue. If getting rid of PCI is the price we pay to ensure external devices are just as fast as their internal counterparts, we judge the trade well worth it.
USB 3.0 not coming to Intel chipsets until 2012
The Register suggests Intel may be holding back USB 3.0 to prime the market for its upcoming Light Peak optical interconnect. That seems unlikely if Intel is indeed working on a standalone SuperSpeed controller, though. Perhaps USB 3.0 is simply more difficult to integrate into a chipset than previously anticipated. After all, AMD stuck with USB 2.0 on its new SB850 south bridge, which features a 6Gbps Serial ATA controller, instead.
SOURCE:http://techreport.com/discussions.x/19032
RAID Performance on Intel Chipsets
Almost all high-end desktop motherboards now ship with the ability to run multiple hard drives in various RAID formats. Usually, it's the south bridge, or I/O controller hub that enables this capability, though some boards add a third party storage controller for added flexibility.
Intel's latest IO controller hub, ICH10R, supports a variety of RAID formats, including RAID 0 (something of a misnomer), RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10. Both ICH10R and ICH9R support volumes as large as 256 terabytes, as long as you have an updated BIOS and the most recent Intel matrix storage driver.
We're not going to get too heavily into which format is suitable for you. You know your applications best. What we're doing today is taking a look at the performance on the multiple RAID formats available with ICH10R. We'll also take a look at some different stripe sizes on RAID 0.
click on image for full view
RAID 0, which has no redundancy, gangs multiple drives by striping reads and writes across them. RAID 0 is mostly for increasing capacity and performance. RAID 1 is pure redundancy—two drives combine to give you the capacity of one drive in one logical volume, but with data written identically onto both physical drives. RAID 5 gives you more capacity than RAID 1, with a reasonable level of data security, by creating a parity stripe that allows reconstruction of the data should one drive go down. Finally, RAID 10 is RAID 0 and RAID 1 combined, to yield both increased performance as well as data redundancy.
Note that we're looking at RAID for desktop systems; while there's some useful information here for people looking to capture or edit video, these aren't good tests for understanding server performance. With that thought in mind, let's look at our test system
SOURCE:http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2334984,00.asp
Intel 8088 That Started the PC Revolution
The 4004, the very first microprocessor kind of just happened. The designers started out to design a chip set for programmable calculator rather than a processor. They designed a general purpose processor instead. That led to several other improved microprocessors including a 16 bit one the 8086. Then in a kind of step back Intel produced a microprocessor a year later, on July 1979, 8088. This was internally the same as the 8086, a complete 16 bit processor, yet external interfaces were all 8 bits. Looking back that might look like a retrograde step. IBM went ahead and used the processor in their IBM-PC product and the rest, as they say, is history!
If you looked at the way a slew of processor coming out of the major manufacturers and the way support chips catch up, it would be hard to believe it used to take time for the support and peripheral chips to catch up. One of the decisions PC manufacturer wanted to implement with the PC, was to use existing technology as far as possible. They went ahead and used the 8088 for that reason. With the existing support chips in 8 bit yet the internal architecture of 16 bit gives you benefits to an extent. At least it would be better than using a processor that is 8 bits inside out. The 8088 had a 8 bit data bus instead of the 16 bit bus of the 8086. Internal 16 bits registers and the 1 MB addressing capability was retained.
The 8088 CPU took two read or write cycles to read or write 16 bit data instead of one as in 8086. But these bus changes made it compatible with 8080/8085 support chips. The 8085 related chips were available in a wider selection, they were stable and also priced much lower than the newer 16 bit support/peripheral chips.
One would think it was logical to use a 16 bit processor for the PC. That actually came later. Processors in 16 bit were already available. The 8086 was around for a year already at the time 8088 was announced. The PC came about couple of years after the coming out of 8088. Motorola 68000 was on the scene too. Many considered the M68000 processor a very well designed 16 bit processor, designed from ground up. Existing, stable technology was the key decision about the PC and they stuck to it rather than go with newer technology.
At this time the processors still did not accommodate the complexity of floating point math operations in hardware. 8086 introduced a numeric c-processor, the 8087 that works with 8086 to provide floating point operations to the 8086. Interestingly the 8088 too could work with the 8087 and provide the math support. Thus there was no restriction that the PC could support office productivity applications only. As it happened later, scientific applications like the AutoCAD too would run on the PC. The PC was ready for the applications revolution on either genre and look what happened!
Debasis Das consults on Embedded Systems, Software development & Testing, coaches students of Electronics & Computer Science, and manages content development. He has worked with technology companies for close to four decades, 25 years of which has been with IT consulting companies. He has managed software and Geospatial industry outsourcing from India for International clientele. He has worked with customers from US, Europe, Japan and China. He is widely traveled.
SOURCE:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Intel-8088-That-Started-the-PC-Revolution&id=3225250
AMD Versus Intel CPU War
The argument over an AMD CPU versus an Intel CPU and which has a higher functionality is currently raging. Simply two years ago this was not even a question. Anyone would tell you that the Intel CPU won the speed and complex algorithm war with AMD CPU's without question. Fast-forward to today and Intel is now playing catch-up to the latest in AMD technologies.
Intel played marketing games with their CPU's pricing them high and touting the functionality that they posses as cutting edge. AMD started out as the cheap alternative CPU manufacturer for computer brands such as e-Machines and low-end Compaqs. From the beginning, AMD CPU's were fighting an uphill battle to catch up with the technology in the Intel CPU. As the years have progressed, AMD has progressed.
AMD now clearly leads in the consumer pricing wars. AMD CPU equipped machines with similar performance specifications will cost you hundreds of dollars less than equivalent Intel CPU based machines. This cost differential is now enough to push many Intel CPU customers to the upstart AMD CPU equipped machines.
If performance is the main concern over price, the AMD CPU line was the first to include 64 bit technology. In 2003 AMD pushed the first 64 bit CPU to market. It was unstable and unreliable at first. But the underlying architecture was sound. The AMD 64 bit CPU was soon running stable and fast. The performance of this AMD CPU caught the Intel CPU team off guard.
Intel had to rush to market their EMT64 CPU to compete with this upstart challenge from AMD. The next item on the board was dual CPU power. Again, AMD one-upped the Intel CPU rule.
AMD CPU's have the information transfer on a dual chip machine flowing through the chips. The Intel dual CPU has a bridge to the motherboard where the information that is being processed by the dual CPU's flows for splitting.
The internal data flow in the AMD CPU's allows them to function with lower heat generation than the dual core Intel CPU's. As a consumer this lower heat generation allows the AMD CPU to last longer than the Intel CPU.
If you are energy conscious, then the AMD CPU will be for you as well. The AMD CPU equipped motherboard will function with approximately 275 watts of power. Compare that to a similarly equipped Intel processor at 400 watts of power, and you have major energy savings by going to the AMD CPU.
So where do the Intel CPU's win out over the AMD CPU's? The Intel CPU's are able to function faster with single programs. So, if you are going to play one game and only that game on your machine, the Intel CPU equipped machine can pull and analyze the data faster. However add in chat and e-mail running in the background and the AMD CPU machine catches up.
SOURCE:
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=73322&ca=Computers+and+Technology
Intel CPU Naming Explained
Intel Processor Family Names
In order from oldest to newest these are some of the most recent Intel processor families:
* Pentium
* Celeron
* Centrino
* Core Duo (32 bit)
* Core 2 Duo (64 bit)
* Core 2 Quad (64 bit)
Within each of these processor families there are a great number of variables, only one of which is the clock speed of the chip. The secret issue is that in many cases (since the advent of the new naming system) the same exact chip may be sold with a different model and speed rating based on how it tests out during manufacture.
Same Chip, Different Clock Speed
As an example of this, in a lot of 100 new CPU's, 50 of them may test out perfectly and be able to perform at the highest rated clock speed. They will be so labeled and sold at a premium price. Others in the same batch may fail to perform at the highest speeds and will be altered to lock them down to slighly slower speeds and sold under a different model name and clock speed designation.
SOURCE:
http://pc-hardware.suite101.com/article.cfm/intel_cpu_naming_explained
Buying Intel Desktop Boards
When looking for a desktop computer you can choose from different brands provided by different manufactures. One common thing about desktop computers is that they share processors and boards from the same manufacturers. This means you can get desktop PC's with different brand names but using the same processor or board. Many companies are involved in the business of desktop board production. However, only a few have achieved high ranking in this area. One of such companies is Intel. The success of Intel in the manufacture of boards has been so high and the Intel Inside label on most desktop computers creates the impression that there are Intel computers. What the label means is that the computer uses an Intel desktop board or chipset. Another confusing aspect of Intel is the name. Most people think it is a short form for intelligence. However, it is an acronym from integrated electronics corporation.
Desktop computers have been used to carry out various functions for a long time now. A desktop PC has various features that help in its functioning. Some of these features are well known by many people while others are the reserve of the tech savvy. For instance when an ordinary person sets out to purchase a PC, he will only consider the model, hard drive storage capacity and the size of the computer. However, there are other features that determine the performance of a computer. One of these features is the desktop board. These days PCs are setup with different desktop boards however, Intel desktop boards have created a record of achievement in terms of performance. Intel also keeps updating features in it's desktop boards therefore you can be assured of getting one that will serve your computing needs properly.
Intel also manufactures processors, which are the main determinants of any PC's performance. Intel processors are provided in single core, duo core and quad core. This means that all your speed needs are catered for completely. Single core Intel chips are the cheapest version therefore a desktop set up with one will not burn a hole in your pocket. They offer low speeds compared to the other two processor categories. However, they cannot be ruled out since most computer software applications are designed to work with one stream of data. Intel's duo core processors allow parallel processing which increases the computers performance. When buying a PC, it is good to buy one that combines both the Intel desktop board and the Intel processor. This will ensure that you get the best performance and data execution.
There are different reasons why you might be searching for an Intel desktop board. One of the main reasons is when you want to set up a high performance PC. Whatever the case, the best source for Intel desktop boards is buying from a reputable online store. This will provide the board at the most affordable price and also offer you a wide range to choose from. The store you choose to buy from should offer a guarantee and shipping services. They should also offer information on different Intel desktop board types to ensure you get the right one to serve your needs fully.
SOURCE:
http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/buying-intel-desktop-boards-2133315.html
