Systems/Enterprise:
INTEL, HP AND MICROSOFT ACHIEVE
TOP TPC-C BENCHMARK
Intel Corporation president and COO Paul Otellini described how Intel-based
servers combined with Microsoft's new operating system and database deliver
industry-leading capabilities and performance -- all backed by tens of
thousands of worldwide system and component sellers, software developers and
solution providers. Otellini also revealed the world's highest-ever
single-system transaction processing performance, achieved on an HP server
with the next Itanium 2 processor (code-named "Madison"), Windows Server 2003
and SQL Server 2000, Enterprise Edition (64-bit).
"We've seen tremendous growth over the past decade in Intel-based servers,"
Otellini said. "Intel Xeon processors power more than eight of 10 servers that
ship today, and the 64-bit Itanium processor family has been shipping for more
than two years and is rapidly gaining popularity. The introduction of Windows
Server 2003 and SQL Server 2000 64-bit marks a major milestone in the movement
of the Windows operating environment to enterprise-class computing powered by
Itanium 2 processors. Together with Microsoft, we look forward to delivering
the best performance and price-performance systems shipping today."
"Intel and Microsoft have collaborated to ensure that Windows Server 2003
is
optimized to take full advantage of the unique capabilities of the Itanium and
Xeon processor families," said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO. "Since the
initial development phases, we have worked together extensively to ensure that
the combination of Windows Server 2003, SQL Server 2000, Enterprise Edition
(64-bit) and Intel processors equals the best value for back-end database
consolidation and delivers the enterprise-hardened capabilities needed for
mission-critical business applications."
Speaking to attendees at the Windows Server 2003 launch, Otellini revealed
that HP, Microsoft and Intel have achieved the world's highest-ever
single-system TPC-C benchmark. The result was accomplished on a non-clustered
64-processor HP server based on Intel's forthcoming Itanium 2 processor 6M
(Madison), Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Data Center Edition and SQL Server
2000 Enterprise Edition (64-bit). The result of 658,277 transactions per
minute (tpmC) exceeds the previous record, set by a 128-processor RISC system.
TPC-C is an industry-standard benchmark for measuring a database server's
processing performance based on an enterprise transaction model for handling
orders.
In addition, NEC, Microsoft and Intel announced yesterday a TPC-C result of
514,034.72 tpmC with a 32-processor NEC Express 5800/1320Xc server based on
the Intel Itanium 2 processor 6M (Madison) running Windows Server 2003
Datacenter Edition (64-bit) and SQL Server 2000 (64-bit). The result is the
world's best performance for a non-clustered, 32-processor server, and is the
best price/performance value among the top 10 non-clustered systems
($11.50/tpmC).
Otellini also illustrated the growing number of Itanium 2-based systems on
the
market today and coming this year, highlighting servers from Unisys and Dell.
The Unisys ES7000/560, announced today, is the industry's first enterprise
server incorporating 32-bit Intel Xeon processors, 64-bit Itanium 2 processors
and PCI blade appliances in a single system. The Itanium 2-based Dell
PowerEdge server is expected to ship this year.
"The Itanium 2 processor is becoming increasingly mainstream thanks to its
high performance, broad choice of platforms and software, and price
advantages. Dell's plan to introduce Itanium 2-based systems reflects the
market's readiness for these critical capabilities," said Thomas F. Coleman,
director of the Cornell Theory Center. "We are excited that Dell will be
introducing Itanium 2-based systems this year and are looking forward to
delivering the benefits of these systems to our education and business clients
as soon as possible."
Microsoft also introduced a version of its SQL Server database for Itanium
2-based servers. SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition (64-bit) and Windows
Server 2003 take full advantage of the parallel processing capabilities and
larger memory addressing of the Itanium architecture, processing
data-intensive transaction workloads faster, supporting more concurrent users
and increasing scalability and throughput.
The Windows Server 2003 launch enables other major software vendors to
introduce applications on Itanium 2-based platforms, including BEA WebLogic
Enterprise Platform, i2 Technologies with key Supply Chain Management
solutions, J.D. Edwards Business Intelligence, Network Associates McAfee
VirusScan Enterprise 7.0, SAP mySAP Business Suite, Symantec AntiVirus
Corporate Edition and dozens of others, adding to the hundreds of applications
and tools already shipping for the Itanium processor family. Intel also
introduced the Intel VTune Performance Analyzer 7.0 and Intel VTune Enterprise
Analyzer 2.0 tools, which support developers using Windows 2003 Server, to
make application and web performance tuning easier and more efficient on
individual or multi-tier Intel-based platforms.
Windows Server 2003 is available in Standard and Web editions for the Intel
Xeon processor family, and Enterprise and Data Center editions for Intel Xeon
processors MP and Itanium 2 processors. Windows Server 2003 supports up to 32
Intel Xeon processors MP with 64 GB of memory, and is optimized to take full
advantage of Intel's Hyper-Threading technology, which provides up to 30
percent performance boosts for multithreaded applications. The operating
system also delivers exclusive 64-bit support for Intel's Itanium processor
family, handling up to 64 processors and 512 GB of memory. Windows Server 2003
also supports advanced clustering, larger page sizes and improved error
detection and logging for added dependability and productivity.
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of
computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about
Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.
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