Product guide

A cost-optimized storage-rich alternative to traditional enterprise 2U dual-socket servers
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• 80W 4-core Xeon 5600 series model E5606 running at 2.13GHz, with reduced power draw and
impressive performance/watt (20W per core; 4.8GTps QPI speed), 8MB of L3 processor cache,
and 1066MHz memory access
• 80W 2-core Xeon 5500 series model E5503 running at 2.0GHz, with reduced power draw (40W
per core; 4.8GTps QPI speed), 4MB of L3 processor cache, and 800MHz memory access
With the Xeon 5500 and 5600 series processors, Intel has diverged from its traditional Symmetric
Multiprocessing (SMP) architecture to a Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) architecture. The
processors are connected through serial coherency links called QuickPath Interconnect (QPI). QPI is
capable of 6.4, 5.6 or 4.8 GTps (gigatransfers per second), depending on the processor model.
4-core Xeon processors contain four complete processor cores. Each 5600 series processor
contains one 12MB or 8MB L3 cache shared by all the cores. Similarly, each 5500 series processor
contains one 4MB L3 cache shared by all the cores. The shared cache is dynamically allocated
among the cores as needed. The multiple cores appear to software as multiple physical processors.
Four- and six-core processors offer considerably higher performance than a same-speed Xeon
processor with 2 cores.
Turbo Boost Technology increases performance by translating the temperature, power and current
head room into higher frequency. It will dynamically increase by 133MHz for short and regular
intervals until the upper limit is met or the maximum possible upside for the number of active cores is
reached. The maximum frequency is dependent on the number of active cores. The amount of time
the processor spends in the Turbo Boost Technology state depends on the workload and operating
environment, providing the performance you need, when and where you need it. For example, a
2.66GHz 6-core X5650 processor with 3-6 cores active can run the cores at 2.93GHz. With only one
or two cores active, the same processor can run those cores at 3.06GHz. Similarly, a 2.4GHz 4-core
E5620 processor can run at 2.53GHz or even 2.66GHz. When the inactive cores are needed again,
they are dynamically turned back on and the processor frequency is adjusted accordingly.
In processors implementing Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, each core has two threads
capable of running an independent process. Thus, a 6-core processor can run 12 threads
concurrently.
Intelligent Power Capability powers individual processor elements on and off as needed, to reduce
power draw.
Execute Disable Bit functionality can help prevent certain classes of malicious buffer overflow
attacks when combined with a supporting operating system.
Intel’s Virtualization Technology (VT) integrates hardware-level virtualization hooks that allow
operating system vendors to better utilize the hardware for virtualization workloads.