Innovative technologies in HP ProLiant Gen8 servers
4
Processors
We use Intel Xeon E5-2600 series processors in the newly introduced 2-socket ProLiant Gen8 servers
and c-Class server blades. These processors use hafnium-based, 32 nm Hi-k metal gate silicon
technology and are based on the Intel Core Microarchitecture Sandy Bridge. Xeon E5-2600 series
processors in our ProLiant Gen8 servers have two, four, six, or eight cores and operate from 60 W
(Xeon LP) to 135 W. These processors feature an integrated northbridge and memory controller. The
processors work with Registered (R) DIMMs, Unbuffered (U) DIMMs, Low-Voltage (LV) DIMMs, and
Load-Reduced (LR) DIMMs. Table 1 summarizes the features of Xeon E5-2600 processors used in
ProLiant Gen8 servers.
Table 1: Intel Xeon E5-2600 processors
Intel Xeon E5-2600
Cores
2, 4, 6, 8
L1/L2 Cache
32 KB / 256 KB
L3 Cache
2.5 MB/core
Direct Media Interface (DMI)
x4 PCIe Gen2 speed
Integrated PCI Express (PCIe)
40 lanes PCIe 3.0
QuickPath Interconnect links
2
DDR3 Memory controller
(Channels/ DIMMs per channel)
4 Ch / 3 DPC
Memory supported
RDIMMs, UDIMMs,
LVDIMMs, LRDIMMs
Memory data rates
1600 MT/s
Power
60 W–135 W
The x4 DMI link is a bi-directional chip-to-chip interconnect between the processor and chipset. The
link provides a total of 20 Gb/s in each direction, or 2.5 GB/s per unidirectional lane. Integrated
PCI Express 3.0 lanes connect directly to the processor for increased performance and efficiency.
For additional information about Intel Xeon E5-2600 series processors, read the HP paper titled
―AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon x86 processors in industry-standard servers.‖ It’s available at
www.hp.com/servers/technology.
Memory technologies
ProLiant Gen8 servers support HP SmartMemory and enhanced memory protection with HP Advanced
Memory Error Detection Technology.
HP SmartMemory
IT trends such as server virtualization, cloud computing, and high-performance computing have
significantly increased the average memory capacity of servers in the last several years. As a result,
DRAM manufacturers are increasing chip component densities to support higher memory capacities.
The combination of higher memory demand, component complexity, and availability requirements
has increased the importance of system memory. It significantly defines the system’s reliability,