HP's quad Opteron makes a big splash

DURING THE the past few months, Hewlett Packard has achieved MMB3, SAP SD, and TPC-C x86 4P benchmark records for its AMD Opteron based Proliant DL585 quad server. It was only last month that this server entered the sales channel.

Last March was the first of those records. The benchmark in question was Microsoft's Exchange Server 2003 MAPI Messaging Benchmark 3 (MMB3). The server was configured with AMD Opteron 848 series processors (2.2 GHz). It achieved a MMB3 score of 7800, which was 6.8% better than its nearest competitor - an Intel Xeon MP based HP Proliant DL580 G2.

In April, HP gained the second of those records, which was for the 2-tier SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) Standard Application Benchmark. HP's quad again used Opteron 848 devices.

HP only held that record for 48 hours though, as IBM edged it out with its Xeon MP based xSeries 365 server. But IBM's record was broken three weeks later, as HP's quad server retook it using faster 850 series Opteron chips (2.4 GHz).

Early in May, HP attained the third of those records for the TPC-C benchmark. This measures how well a server performs doing complex On-Line Transaction Processing - OLTP. HP's quad server holds the number one and two positions for x86 4P TPC-C performance - 123,027 tpmC @ $3.50/tpmC (Opteron 850) and 105,687 tpmC @ $3.23/tpmC (Opteron 848).

In April last year, RackSaver announced a record breaking x86 4P TPC-C result for its quad Opteron server - 82,226 tpmC @ $2.72/tpmC. HP has vastly improved the performance result by 50%.

The TPC-C database does show a 4P HP Itanium 2 box that delivered 11% better TPC-C performance than its Opteron counterpart. But that was achieved at $126,000 more in cost.

The quad Opteron configuration for HP's record breaking x86 4P TPC-C performance result was the first that I've seen which used 64 GB of RAM.

So with the record breaking performance that the Proliant DL585 server has demonstrated, HP's quad Opteron has most definitely arrived. It has also set a marker that its competitors will want to emulate.

The mother of all Opteron servers
With HP's quad Opteron server punching above its weight, it's actually worth taking a closer look at its design, as it's very different from the other quad Opterons on offer.

Each processor socket and its accompanying 8 DIMM slots are located on an individual module, which plugs into the motherboard. Two modules are shipped with the basic configuration. The other two optional modules have to be installed as a pair.

What gives the 4U machine its mother title are the 32 DIMM slots that it supports - 8 DIMM slots per processor. Using 2 GB DIMMs, it can support up to 64 GB of RAM. This also gives it the ability to support 32 GB of RAM when only two processors are used. Other quad Opterons support 32 GB maximum - four DIMM slots per processor. Newisys says its quad Opteron supports 64 GB of RAM, but only when 4 GB DIMMs become available. So in the real world of today, HP's machine is the quad Opteron grand daddy.

HP's 64 GB of memory support is limited to the PC2100 speed grade. That is slower than other quad Opterons, which support up to the PC3200 memory standard.

Is there some technical reason why HP's memory support is limited to the PC2100 speed grade? Or could it be that HP's volume memory requirements necessitated sourcing the slower speed RAM. Before anyone raises ire about that, just bear in mind that HP's Xeon MP based Proliant DL580 Generation 2 quad server is specced with even slower PC1600 RAM.

Last March saw MSI launch its K8D Master 3 dual Opteron server board, which supports 24 GB of RAM. What was significant about that board was its 8+4 DIMM layout, which was the first commercial Opteron board to implement 8 DIMMs to a single socket layout. MSI's spec page says its board supports PC3200 memory. So even if HP's quad Opteron doesn't officially support memory above the PC2100 speed grade, higher speed RAM support looks possible.

When 4GB DIMM modules become available in volume, which would probably be no faster than the PC2100 speed grade, HP's grand daddy may be able to support that memory as well. If so, maximum memory support would double to 128GB.

Is today's Xeon MP obsolete?
When IT decision makers compare HP's Xeon and Opteron based quads, it seems evident that the choice to go with Opteron is a simple one.

Opteron advantages:

1. AMD64 - AMD's x86 64-bit extensions that Intel and the rest of the world will adopt. Can the same be said of IA64?
2. Intel's AMD64 compatible Xeon MP won't be available until sometime next year.
3. No 64-bit obsolescence - 64-bit capable today.
4. Twice the memory support - 64 GB as opposed to 32 GB.
5. Better overall performance and value.
6. 8th generation design delivers better overall solution - no Heath Robinson computing. Lower chip count for simpler, cost effective design.
7. Silicon-on-insulator technology for cooler running processors.
8. Platform looks to have a long and stable future.

Potential support for:

1. PC2700 and PC3200 memory.
2. 128GB max memory using 4GB DIMMs.
3. Low power Opterons for best performance per Watt.
4. 8-way processing with dual-core Opteron.

With what is known about HP's quad Opteron and its possible upgrade path, it really does look like game, set and match.

Will AMD64 become the chipmaker's next cash cow?
Intel's revenue from enterprise operations is currently far, far greater than AMD's. But with AMD64 and its supporting technologies, AMD has a volume enterprise server platform that overall is head and shoulders above what Intel can deliver today. More importantly though, it has the tier-one support that should turn that clean kill into very profitable revenues.

AMD is winning the hearts and minds. If AMD64 becomes a cash cow, it would have been achieved without doing what is common Intel practice - spending hundreds of millions of dollars promoting the platform.

With the technological leadership that AMD is demonstrating - not only in the CPU space, but in the NOR flash memory market as well - AMD looks set to reap handsomely and leave its past fiscal failures far behind. µ

Benchmarks results
MMB3
SAP SD
TPC-C

See Also
MSI launches dual processor Opteron server board
Where AMD leads, Intel follows