Today, Intel introduced the Xeon (R) 5500 series processor, known recently in the industry by its code name Nehalem.
We characterize the Xeon 5500 as the most important server technology launch for Intel since the introduction of the Pentium Pro processer in 1995. Pentium Pro was optimized for servers, and helped create the standard high-volume server market. We believe the Xeon 5500 represents the same scale of technology advance, and will be equally transformative in growth markets like cloud infrastructure and high performance computing. Not only does the Xeon 5500 deliver stunning performance gains – 1.7 to 2.25 times the performance of the prior generation across a range of workloads – but it includes critical features enabling the processor to intelligently adapt to diverse requirements automatically. Capabilities like Turbo Mode, Power Gating, and Extended Page tables deliver results for workloads that are highly threaded or frequency sensitive, power constrained or performance sensitive, native or virtualized. You can learn more about the Xeon 5500 processors in Intel's Server Room.
Dell’s history in the server business has many parallels with Intel’s history delivering server technology. The first Dell PowerEdge servers were introduced in 1994, and by the late 90s Dell was already one of the market leaders in the server business.
Concurrent with our launch of the Xeon 5500 series processor, Dell is today announcing their 11th generation of PowerEdge servers. While I’m excited about the Xeon 5500 and related platform components from Intel, I believe industry innovation at a system and solution level is even more important for customers. The ingredients enable capabilities, while the system solutions unlock the capability to deliver real world value.
Dell’s 11th generation PowerEdge servers exemplify this innovation. A great example is power management – Dell’s Energy Smart Management solutions take full advantage of the power flexibility of the Xeon 5500 and put fine grain control of power consumption in the hands of the customer. Dell has also delivered significant advances for virtualized workloads. Dell’s new servers build upon Xeon 5500 optimizations with embedded hypervisors, up to 125 percent increased memory footprint and more integrated I/O. The numbers in widely accepted benchmarks tell the story. Dell has a full list of their benchmarks achievements here.
Dell has a huge focus on simplifying IT for customers. After almost 20 years in the industry, I know that making technology simple for customers requires some of the most innovative thinking. Dell challenges Intel every day to help deliver on the promise of simplicity. I believe Intel’s close collaboration with Dell has brought the best out of both companies.
I’d like to congratulate Dell on the 11th generation server launch. I expect your hard work and innovation to be well-received by your customers.