PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. (02/16/2000) - While participants at the Intel Developer Forum here were still digesting the details of the company's new Itanium processor, Intel gave a preview into the inner workings of its next high-end processor, code-named McKinley.
This newest chip, still deep in the design phase, will be the next generation processor for the Intel IA-64 operating environment.
Indeed, according to one Intel official, it will not be possible to take full advantage of IA-64 until McKinley begins shipping. Expected to launch in late 2001, the McKinley processor relies on a synergy between software and hardware that exists on the Itanium processor, but is not fully optimized, according to Gadi Singer, vice president and general manager for the IA-64 microprocessor division.
A process jointly developed by Intel and Hewlett-Packard, which Singer called a "deferred transaction mechanism," gives signs to the processor that allow it to 'speculate' on which calculations happen only once, and which ones repeat themselves, thus maximizing the throughput of the data and preventing bottlenecks.
"Imagine if you could give the processor a birds-eye view," said Singer. "And with this view you can see everything that's coming towards it so it can prepare to sort the incoming data. This gives much more performance than the processor operating alone."
Singer said he was unable to discuss what the solo processor speed of McKinley might be, but he did confirm that the processor will be based on a 0.18 micron aluminum architecture at its launch, the same as Itanium. Intel will then move to 0.13 micron copper architecture by early 2002, in order to take advantage of copper's greater conductivity and lower heat displacement. A copper architecture could also result in a lower cost per unit once it is adopted into mass production.
Sun Microsystems already holds a firm grip on a considerable portion of the 64-bit high-end server market with its Solaris operating environment. Industry observers have interpreted IA-64 as an attempt by Intel to make inroads into this ever-expanding market. The move by Intel has caused speculation as to whether or not the Itanium processors, the first for the IA-64 environment, are just training wheels in preparation for McKinley.
"The Itanium processors are nothing more than proof of concept for IA-64," said Mike Feibus, an analyst for Mercury Research, in Scottsdale, Arizona.
"It is McKinley that will put Intel in position to really go after Sun and Solaris," said Feibus. "But they couldn't roll out a new OS without a processor, and that's what Itanium is for."
Intel Corp., in Santa Clara, Calif., is at http://www.intel.com. Sun Microsystems Inc., in Palo Alto, Calif., is at http://www.sun.com.
Dan Neel is an InfoWorld reporter.