Operating system software and application
software are able to operate within the architectural framework
of a server by requesting the completion of many logical threads
representing specific functions or tasks. A processor is the
logic circuitry that responds to and processes these requests by
completing specific instructions that form an integral part of
the processor function.
The processor instruction set implemented in
32-bit Intel processors provides the framework for applications
requesting the completion of specific application threads. The
internal processor performance factors include clock speed, the
number of instructions executed per clock cycle and the caching
capabilities of the processor. Intel continues to improve
processor performance by improving their processor technology.
The Intel Xeon processor is designed for
dual-processor server and workstation platforms. Featuring
innovative technologies such as the Intel NetBurst™ micro
architecture and Hyper-Threading Technology, Intel Xeon
processor-based systems offer outstanding platform
dependability, value andversatility.
Hyper-Threading Technology is an innovation that
enables multi-threaded software applications to execute threads
in parallel. To improve performance in the past, threading was
enabled in the software by splitting instructions into multiple
streams so that multiple processors could act upon them. Today
with Hyper-Threading Technology, two threads can share processor
resources and execute in parallel on a single
processor—appearing to an operating system or multi-threaded
application as if it were two processors.
Hyper-Threading Technology improves processor
resource utilization yielding higher processing throughput.
Hyper-Threading Technology is a form of simultaneous
multi-threading technology (SMT) where multiple threaded
software applications can be run simultaneously on one
processor.
Hyper-Threading Technology also delivers faster
response times for multi-tasking workload environments. By
allowing the processor to use on-die resources that would
otherwise have been idle, Hyper-Threading Technology provides a
performance boost on multi-threading and multi-tasking
operations for the Intel NetBurst microarchitecture.
This technology is largely invisible to the
platform. In fact, many applications are already multithreaded
and will automatically benefit from this technology; however,
further performance gains can be realized by specifically tuning
software for Hyper-Threading Technology. This technology
complements traditional multi-processing by providing additional
headroom for future software optimizations and business growth.
The speed of the processor front-side bus
determines the speed at which data can be submitted to and
transmitted from the processor. If the front-side bus speed does
not complement the access speed of other components connected to
the I/O control hub, the performance of the overall system is
compromised. The same principle remains true for the memory and
I/O subsystems.
