W
HITE
P
APER
(cont.)
16
Compaq is part of an industry working group, including Intel, that has published the Developer’s
Interface Guide for IA-64 Servers. The guide specifies a common baseline hardware interface for IA-
64 solutions. It provides developers with the tools and information they need to successfully
implement reliable, scalable and interoperable IA-64 processor-based server solutions within
complex enterprise-wide environments. The guides include migration tools, test criteria and
validation test suites, and a three-year road map to help developers plan and create reusable and
lasting designs.
These sustained efforts are designed to help deliver to IA -64 the same powerful advantages that
make IA-32 so compelling. The broad support of the developer community, the widest operating
system and application choice, and the benefits of a high-volume computing platform will combine
to make IA-64 the ideal platform for tomorrow’s e-Business solutions.
Performance Selections
Chip Selection
The AP250 series uses the Intel Pentium III processor, with the 820 chipset.
The AP550 series uses the Intel Pentium III processor, with the 840 chipset.
The SP750 series uses the Intel Xeon processor, with the 840 chipset.
The XP1000 series uses the Alpha 21264 processor and its own dedicated motherboard design.
Floating Point Vs Integer Performance
It’s important to note that Pro/ENGINEER and to an even larger extent Pro/MECHANICA demand
large floating-point performance from the base level processor. Integer performance is important,
but floating-point performance significantly drives the application speed.
Cache Selection
The AP250 series has integrated 256 KB level two cache.
The AP550 series and the SP750 series has integrated 256 KB level two cache per processor, with
up to two processors supported.
The XP1000 series has a 4MB level two cache per processor.
Multiprocessor selection
Multiple processors should only be selected when the underlying application shows a performance
advantage. Pro/MECHANICA is being upgraded to take advantage of multiprocessors.
Pro/ENGINEER is designed for a single processor, except for one small piece, which shows slight
improvement with a second processor.
Memory selection
Rambus is a memory technology company that has developed the next generation of memory
technology called Rambus or RDRAM. RDRAM is capable of delivering 1.6GB/s per channel
bandwidth because its interface is 2 bytes wide running at 400MHz clock, double pumped. This is a
streamlined approach to memory access, and RDRAM delivers three times the effective bandwidth
of PC100 SDRAM.
Direct RDRAM supports 32 devices per channel, each of which supports three RIMM
connectors/modules, with maximum memory determined by the 32 devices used on each RIMM.
