Intel has been working with financial vendors in applying 64-bit computing since as far back as the late 1990s. This year, the company continued forward with several announcements related to 64-bit computing, including the availability of five new 64-bit processors with Intel® Extended Memory 64 Technology (Intel EM64T). With the introduction of the Intel Celeron® D processor 351, Intel has completed the transformation of its entire desktop and server product lines to 64-bit computing capability.
Stephen Thorne is Product Manager in Intel’s Server Platform Group.
An Intel white paper predicted that the industry is poised for a large-scale move toward 64-bit computing. When do you see that taking place?
The silicon is in place, and Intel EM64T based operating systems have been available since early 2005. As well, the number of 64-bit applications continues to ramp. By the end of the year, we expect many end-users to make the transition to 64-bit computing, particularly on server and workstation platforms. All of Intel’s main enterprise platforms support 64-bit computing, including the Intel Xeon™, Itanium®, Pentium® and Celeron® processor families.
What is driving this shift toward 64-bit computing?
Customers require ever-increasing amounts of data processing capability, without sacrificing the extensive investment in Intel Architecture-32 architecture. In particular, 64-bit computing allows customers to place much larger data sets in system memory, moving beyond the 2MB limitation of prior 32-bit operating systems. Both Intel Xeon and Itanium processor families provide a migration path from Intel Architecture-32 to 64-bit computing. The Intel Itanium processor family includes an Intel Architecture-32 Execution Layer to assist customers with the migration from 32-bit to 64-bit applications. And the Intel EM64T operating environment includes a “compatibility mode” to provide support for 32-bit applications within platforms instrumented for Intel EM64T.
In June, Intel announced that with the introduction of the Celeron D processor 351, Intel Corporation now has 64-bit computing available throughout its entire desktop and server processor lines. What is the significance of that announcement for the financial community?
This marks availability of 64-bit computing for customers in almost every platform configuration that Intel offers. So the underlying platform hardware is capable of migrating from 32-bit to 64-bit computing. Coupled with 64-bit operating systems, this allows enterprise customers to utilize 64-bit Itanium processors in the core data center, with Intel EM64T support in infrastructure and digital office environments utilizing 64-bit Intel Xeon and Pentium processors.
You mentioned earlier that both Intel Xeon and Itanium processor families provide a migration path from Intel Architecture-32 to 64-bit computing. Could you explain in which circumstances a firm might choose one versus the other?
Itanium architecture was built from the ground up for high-end 64-bit computing in business-critical environments. It is based on Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing (EPIC) technology, which incorporates highly parallel processing and innovative, compiler-based optimization that greatly improves performance for compute-intensive applications. With these capabilities, Itanium 2 systems are delivering outstanding performance for some of today’s largest and most demanding workloads, and for technical and scientific applications requiring high-performance floating-point calculations. According to analysts at Aberdeen*, they “consistently outperform 64-bit applications running on 64-bit RISC-based servers,”(see footnote 1) and do so at substantially lower costs.
Itanium architecture is also designed to support the highest levels of reliability, availability, and serviceability for business critical environments. The RAS features of Itanium 2 systems are comparable, and in some cases superior, to those found in leading, proprietary platforms. Because of its enhanced parallelism, large cache configurations, and massive execution resources, Itanium architecture-based systems also tend to scale exceptionally well in large SMP configurations.
This combination of features makes Itanium architecture an attractive, standards-based alternative to high-end RISC and mainframe systems.
Intel EM64T is a natural migration of Intel’s 32-bit server architecture to 64-bits, with additional architectural features (including instructions and registers) that enable Intel Xeon processor-based platforms to expand memory addressability and to run both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems and applications. These new platforms deliver leading performance for existing 32-bit workloads, while eliminating many of the barriers organizations face in moving one or more critical applications to 64-bit platforms.
What aspects of 64-bit computing will carry the most advantages for financial firms?
The Intel 64-bit solutions allow for larger data sets to be placed in main system memory, providing better capability to process large quantities of information. This provides particular usefulness for financial firms that are processing large numbers of transactions or simulating complex market models.
For customers who have extensive application suites designed for 32-bit platforms, will it be a difficult or costly transition?
The transition involves moving to new hardware platforms and operating systems that are capable of supporting 64-bit applications. The transition is aided by legacy support for 32-bit applications. Once a customer upgrades their hardware platforms and OS to those supporting Intel EM64T, they are able to run both 32-bit and 64-bit applications side by side on the same platform. The architecture provides a seamless environment and switches between the two applications on a code-segment by code-segment basis. Most operating system vendors, including Microsoft*, Red Hat* and SuSE*, offer 64-bit capable operating systems.
Where in a financial firm’s infrastructure do you see 64-bit computing making the first inroads?
Logical interception points for Intel’s 64-bit platform solutions include market modeling, simulations and on-line transaction processing.
How does 64-bit computing stack up to the mainframe?
High performance, clustered Intel architecture solutions have been displacing proprietary RISC-based platforms for some time now. We expect this trend to continue through the end of 2005 and into 2006. This is especially true of the Itanium architecture.
What are the advantages of migrating from a proprietary RISC-based platform? Do clients make this migration more to reduce cost, improve performance, or is it a combination of factors? Please explain.
Customer transitions will depend on a combination of all of the factors identified. However, the enterprise features provided by Itanium architecture mentioned previously makes it an attractive, standards-based alternative to high-end RISC and mainframe systems. According to the Aberdeen Group, “Intel-based platforms are typically better performing per processor, more scalable, more cost-effective, and more flexible (standards-based, open, and able to adapt to new technologies and integrate with other platforms). They also are more programmer-productive and feature a smaller footprint” (see footnote 2). In other words, they are comparable or superior to high-end, proprietary architectures on virtually all levels, and provide extremely powerful and cost-effective alternatives to aging RISC-based systems for business-critical, data tier applications.
At this stage, do you find that 64-bit computing is more often replacing 32-bit platforms, or proprietary RISC-based platforms? Why is that?
Since the majority of Intel’s enterprise platforms support 64-bit computing, it is difficult to ascertain the market transition from either legacy Intel Architecture-32 or proprietary RISC-based solutions. In both cases, Intel architecture provides a cost-effective, flexible and standards-based approach to migrating to 64-bit computing.
In what ways will users be able to take advantage of the benefits of 64-bit computing from the desktop?
High performance desktop applications like computer automated design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM), electronic design automation (EDA) and digital content creation (DCC) are expected to be among the earliest to take advantage of 64-bit computing as they often benefit highly from direct access to a large amount of system memory.
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Copyright © 2005, Intel Corporation. Intel, Xeon, Celeron, Pentium and Itanium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. This paper is for informational purposes only. INTEL MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS PAPER.
Only certain Intel processors with Intel® EM64T present as a feature are enabled with 64-bit capability. Intel® EM64T requires a computer system with a processor, chipset, BIOS, operating system, device drivers and applications enabled for Intel® EM64T. Processor will not operate (including 32-bit operation) without an Intel® EM64T enabled BIOS. Performance will vary depending on your hardware and software configurations. See www.intel.com/technology/64bitextensions/ for more information including details on which processors support Intel® EM64T or consult with your system vendor for more information
Intel processor numbers are not a measure of performance. Processor numbers differentiate features within each processor family, not across different processor families. See www.intel.com/products/processor_number/ for details.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
