A new ® based advanced superscalar technology introduced by Nfina Technologies™ provides high performance, high-density solutions with foundational and innovative enhancements.

Foundational Enhancements

1. Intel® Scalable System Framework (Intel SSF) - Provides breakthrough compute, memory/storage, and network performance; a common infrastructure that supports a variety of workloads; standards-based programmability; and broad vendor availability. This is made possible by Intel’s broad portfolio of innovative compute, memory and storage, network fabric, and software technologies, which allows unprecedented co- design and system integration while eliminating bottlenecks. Tighter component integration improves compute density, I/O bandwidth, and network latency while lowering power consumption and overall cost. Intel SSF creates a stable system target for software vendors to help reduce development and maintenance costs. HPC users benefit from a common infrastructure. [7]

2. Intel® Ultra Path Interconnect (Intel UPI) - UPI is a low-latency coherent standard for shared memory, multiprocessing and message passing for scalable multiprocessor systems with a shared address space, improving inter-CPU bandwidth for I/O intensive workloads. It uses a directory-based home snoop coherency protocol (maintaining a cache coherency) with a speed of up to 10.4GT/s. Supporting processors typically have two or three UPI links. UPI offers the perfect balance between improved throughput and energy efficiency. [1][2]

3. Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX-512) - A new set of CPU instructions that impacts computing, storage, and network functions; aids in the acceleration of deduplication, encryption, compression and decompression. The number 512 refers to the width, in bits, of the register file, which sets the parameters for how much data a set of instructions can operate upon at a time. Intel AVX-512 doubles the width of the register compared to its predecessor AVX2, and it also doubles the number of registers to further decrease latency. It also contains additional optimizations to further accelerate tasks for modern workloads. Intel AVX-512 can accelerate performance for workloads and use cases such as scientific simulations, financial analytics, artificial intelligence (AI)/deep learning, 3D modeling and analysis, image and audio/video processing, cryptography, and data compression. Intel AVX-512 can also help data centers more efficiently use available storage resources, and security. [3][4]

4. Higher Core Performance - Up to 28 cores with Intel® Xeon® Scalable Family processors, available and configurable with Intel Scalable System Framework (Intel SSF) using scalable frequency, with built in compute control, network, and storage, while delivering high performance and dynamic stability across the entire block without sacrificing performance for a variety of deployments such as virtualization. New features such as AVX-512 improve with workload optimized performance and VM’s scale easily with full access to all the shared onboard resources that they need. Server versions add support for Error-correcting code memory (ECC), which protects against undetected memory data corruption where such is unacceptable, such as financial computing applications or in file servers Using Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, new layers can be added in the I/O and storage system as well as the compute system making it possible to fine-tune the core frequency for high I/O or compute requirements based on the application needs. [5][6]

5. 2 x M.2 SSD connectors, PCIe® or SATA (22x80) - Internal high-speed boot drives now available allowing more accessible storage on the front drives. [8]

6. NVMe – Non Volatile Memory Host Controller Express - A device designed from the ground up to capitalize on flash based storage devices like SSDs. It exploits the level of parallelism possible in the Intel Xeon Scalable Processor Family, and as a result, reduces I/O overhead. NVMe devices exist in the form of standard-sized PCI Express expansion cards and as 2.5-inch form-factor devices that provide a four-lane PCI Express through the U.2 connector SATA Express storage devices and the M.2 specification for internally mounted storage. [9]

Innovative Integrations

1. Intel® Omni-Path Architecture (Intel OPA) Host fabric Interface - Easing the deployment of high performance computing clusters by eliminating the need for a dedicated fabric interface card, OPA provides a high bandwidth, low latency fabric integrated within Intel Xeon processors to deal with traffic flow optimization, packet integrity protection, and dynamic lane scaling. OPA analyzes congestion and adjusts routes across multiple virtual lanes. [10]

2. Intel® Quick Assist Technology (Intel QAT) - Provides a software-enabled foundation for security, authentication, and compression, and significantly increases the performance and efficiency of standard platform solutions, as it frees up CPU cycles and reduces demand on the server. [11]

3. Integrated Intel with scalable iWARP RDMA - Integrated Ethernet with scalability/RDMA. Intel has added RDMA (Remote ) capability to the on board Ethernet controllers. This allows incoming packets to be placed directly into memory at HW speeds, and reduces CPU utilization. iWARP protocol can utilize standard (non-managed) Ethernet switches. This is different from another connection RDMA protocol that uses LDAP. LDAP support requires that the Ethernet switch infrastructure supports the LDAP protocol as well. [12]

4. Intel® Volume Management Devices (Intel VMD) - Enables hot swapping of NVMe SSDs from the PCIe without shutting down the system, while standardized LEDs help provide quicker identification of SSD status. This commonality brings enterprise reliability, serviceability, and availability features to NVMe SSDs, enabling deployment of next gen storage with confidence. Intel VMD places a control point in the PCIe root complex of servers powered by Intel Xeon Scalable processors. Now, NVMe drives can be hot-swapped and the status LED is always reliable. [13][14]

5. Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel VROC) - A new software package for RAID volume management launched with the new Intel Xeon Scalable processor family. These CPUs have new hardware architecture. It allows NVMe SSDs to connect via PCIe connections and directly manage on the CPU. Intel VROC leverages this architecture to enable NVMe RAID. Intel VROC provides compelling RAID performance that unleashes the full potential of NVMe drives. This reliable RAID solution for data protection is easy to scale with flexible drive configurations. [15][16]

Key Benefits

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References

[1] https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-xeon-processor-scalable-family-technical-overview [2] http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/intel-xeon-platinum-8176-scalable-cpu,review-33947-4.html [3] http://www.prowesscorp.com/what-is-intel-avx-512-and-why-does-it-matter/ [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVX-512 [5] https://newsroom.intel.com/press-kits/next-generation-xeon-processor-family/ [6] https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/xeon/scalable/xeon-scalable-platform-brief.html [7] https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/high-performance-computing/improve-hpc-system-bottlenecks- business-brief.html [8] https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/servers/server-boards/server-board-s2600wf.html [9] https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/high-performance-computing-fabrics/omni-path-driving-exascale- computing.html [10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVM_Express [11] https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/intel-quick-assist-technology- overview.html [12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IWARP [13] https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/intel-volume-management-device- overview.html [14] http://www.prowesscorp.com/why-intel-volume-management-device-is-a-bigger-deal-than-you-might-think/ [15] https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000024498/memory-and-storage/ssd-software.html [16] https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000024550/memory-and-storage.html