Technologies for HP ProLiant 100-series G5 (Generation 5) servers, 2nd edition

Abstract

This paper describes the major technologies implemented in the latest generation of HP ProLiant

100-series servers. These technologies include dual-core and quad-core processors, Double Data

Rate-2 (DDR2) and Fully-Buffered memory modules, Lights-Out 100 management, multifunction

network interface cards, the most recent server deployment utilities, and the latest serial input/output

(I/O) technologies.

Introduction

HP constantly advocates, tests, and adopts new industry-standard server technologies that improve the

performance, capacity, and reliability of ProLiant servers. This paper summarizes the processor,

memory, I/O, and management technologies implemented in the latest generation of the ProLiant

100-series servers.

For complete specifications of all ProLiant 100-series servers, see the HP website at

www.hp.com/products/servers/platforms.

Processor technologies

ProLiant 100-series servers use the latest multi-core technologies from Intel and AMD. A multi-core

processor has two or four separate execution cores on the same physical die so that it can perform

more work within a given clock cycle. To take advantage of multi-core processing, software must be

“multi-threaded” so that the processor work load can be distributed across multiple execution cores.

Intel® Xeon® processors

The dual-core Intel Xeon 3100 and 5200 sequence processors and quad-core Intel Xeon 3300 and

5400 sequence processors are based on the Intel® Core™ microarchitecture. The Core

microarchitecture uses less power and produces less heat than previous generations of Intel

processors.

Using Hyper-Threading technology, these multi-core processors offer wide execution paths

for highly efficient instruction processing. Intel Xeon 5000 sequence processors can simultaneously

execute four software threads, thereby increasing processor utilization. To avoid saturation of the front

side bus (FSB), the Intel 5000 chipset widens the interface by providing dual independent buses. The

Intel Core microarchitecture includes these additional technologies that improve per-watt performance

and energy efficiency: Hardware Virtualization, Enhanced Intel Speed-Step® Technology,

Supplemental Streaming SIMD Extension 3 (SSSE3), and Intel Execute Disable Bit technology.

Xeon dual-core processors

The 64-bit Intel Xeon 3100 and 5200 sequence processors combine performance and power

efficiency to enable smaller, quieter systems. Xeon 3100 processors include 6 megabytes (MB) of L2

cache per core and a maximum front side bus speed of 1333 megahertz (MHz).

The Intel Xeon 5200 sequence processors are similar in architecture to the Xeon 3100 sequence

processors (Figure 1). The Xeon 5200 processors use 45-nanometer (nm) technology resulting in high

performance (up to 1666-MHz FSB speed) and enhanced power efficiency. Both the Xeon 3100 and

the 5200 sequence processors are compatible with IA-32 software and support single-processor

operation.

For additional information about Intel processors, see the HP technology brief titled “AMD Opteron™ and

Intel® Xeon® x86 processors in industry-standard servers” at

http://

h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/C02731435/C02731435.pdf.