META Trend: By 2005/06, Intel-based servers will dominate at the DBMS tier. Scale-out database configurations will grow in popularity as management virtualization improves, but remain primarily a high-availability option. By 2004, XML-based content storage and rendering will become a key DBMS differentiator along with data movement and transformation. Centralized data warehouse architectures will emphasize database workload prioritization and data archiving to support the increasing need for near-real-time analytics through 2006.

Context
As application support for Intel's IPF grows, users must understand the relative benefits of the 32-bit Xeon and 64-bit Itanium architectures on the Intel road map. The choice of processor platform will be dependent not only on application/OS support, but also on the distinct value and performance propositions offered by the two architectures. End-user consumption of the Itanium processor has been growing slowly while OS and application vendors tune their software to support the new processor architecture. End users have also been exploring the EPIC (Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing), architecture for their near- and medium-term infrastructure planning.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

The adoption of Itanium platforms for enterprise platforms is a three-to-five-year process spanning several generations. During 2002, more than 90 percent of Intel-based servers will be shipped with 32-bit Intel Xeon processors that will offer good performance and the widest range of application and OS support. But we believe that by 2Q03 the default to Xeon for corporate Intel-based server infrastructure will not necessarily increase performance or deliver the best investment value for every application. During 1H03, we expect the next-generation member of the Itanium processor family, the Intel Itanium 2 processor (previously code-named McKinley), to begin volume shipment.

By 1H03, there will be significant weight behind the Intel Itanium architecture via more widespread and better optimized application support and (most important) full compatibility with Microsoft's next-generation server operating environment, ".Net Server." This means that for the first time, users will have a real choice in the Intel architecture they adopt for corporate server and workstation investments.

Common design principles
During the next three to five years, the road maps of the Intel Xeon and Itanium processor families will share many common elements and design goals: improved throughput, better on-chip cache management, improved multiprocessor performance, and increased on-dye optimization for specific tasks such as data encryption. Although we estimate that 60 percent of the design goals between the two families will be common, approximately 40 percent will be unique. Indeed, our research indicates that Intel will continue to strongly develop both architectures for servers and workstations in parallel for at least four years. The distinct processor qualities will have significant value or performance benefits to users and will be reflected in a clear price differentiation between Xeon- and Itanium-based systems. Given this sustained differentiation of both functional delivery and systems cost (partly driven by increased memory specification for Itanium-based systems), users must decide between 32- and 64-bit systems to gain the most appropriate architecture and best value.

1 2 3	| Next page

Newsletters
	Tech Update Today eBusiness Update	Tech Update Weekly		All newsletters FAQ Manage my newsletters

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

[an error occurred while processing this directive]