By Eileen Yu
Tuesday, May 03 2005 03:41 PM
URL: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/hardware/0,39042972,39228460,00.htm

SINGAPORE--AMD unveiled its dual-core processors here last week, with the strong backing of major server hardware vendors. But rival Intel is not worried, saying that achieving success in any new technology is more than just a win in the speed game.

The newly-released dual-core AMD Opteron 800 series, which is said to outperform a single-core version running at the same speed, is designed for 4-way to 8-way servers and priced from US$1,514.

AMD expects its OEM partners to roll out systems based on the 800 series processors within the next month. The AMD Opteron 200 series designed for 2-way servers and workstations, however, will be available late-May, with OEM-based products expected to be rolled out in June.

HP will be launching a 4-way dual-core Opteron-based system, HP ProLiant DL585, in the region by end-May, said Ricky Chu, HP's product manager for Asia-Pacific industry standard server group. A 2-way option will be released by July this year, he added.

"This is not a horse race. It requires a whole ecosystem to move in tandem with any new technology, and that takes a lot of effort. William Wu, regional platform marketing manager, server platform group, Intel Asia-Pacific

"Currently, Intel does not have a dual-core server processor yet. But we will support that, too, as soon as they make it available in the market, just as we have with AMD," Chu said. "That would give customers more choice."

Intel already has a dual-core offering but the processors are based on the company's Pentium 4 architecture and designed primarily to run in desktops. Some companies, however, are using it for entry-level servers.

According to K Sugumaran, regional sales director of mid-market sales, Sun Microsystems Asia South, AMD has been a "rule-breaker" that has been "taking on the incumbent". Sun last week also released a dual-core 8-way Opteron-based x64 server, Sun Fire V40z.

Sugumaran noted that he has seen "generally a 20 percent to 30 percent increase" every quarter in customer demand for AMD-based systems.

What Dell says Amid the hoopla over AMD's recent dual-core launch, Dell Computer has remained staunchly loyal in its support for Intel. When contacted by CNETAsia, the Singapore office of Dell did not respond directly to questions about whether its customers are asking for AMD-based systems and whether the company has plans to support AMD processors in the future. In his e-mail reply to CNETAsia, Francis Huan, spokesperson for Dell Asia-Pacific, wrote that the company's focus is to deliver "the latest high-performance" technologies and "the most complete solution" to its customers. "We're always considering new technologies, but today we only offer Intel-based systems," he noted.

According to market anayst IDC, AMD-based servers registered a three-and-a-half-fold increase in 2004 over 2003 in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan.

Last week's launch is months ahead of Intel's dual-core Xeon processors, codenamed Montecito, which are slated for release at the end of 2005.

Intel, however, appears unfazed by AMD's swift move to market in the server space, emphasizing that the processor is but one of several components vital to successfully drive a new platform.

"At this point, there's still a lot of work that needs to be done," said William Wu, regional platform marketing manager, server platform group, Intel Asia-Pacific. The chipmaker, he said, is currently working closely with the software industry to develop applications that "are more threaded" so they can be optimized to run on dual-core architectures.

He said that many applications today, including middleware, enterprise-class software and databases, are not well-written to take full advantage of the computing prowess that dual-core platforms offer. He noted that Microsoft had only recently released its 64-bit Windows server OS.

Besides the chip and hardware makers, software developers and systems integrators will also need to come together to drive the adoption of multi-core processor architectures, Wu said.

"Without the software, you can't take full advantage of the architecture. Why then would you want to buy it?" he said.

"This is not a horse race. It's not about who comes up with a faster chip or who goes to market with it first," he added. "The technology can be good, but if you don't have the software to take advantage of that, then there's no point. It requires a whole ecosystem to move in tandem with any new technology, and that takes a lot of effort and time."

AMD's success factors

Avneesh Saxena, vice president of enterprise storage, systems and workstations, IDC Asia-Pacific, added that although AMD has a head-start over Intel in releasing its dual-core server products first, the company's success in making inroads into the market will depend on several factors.

"AMD's ability to gain share is linked to their OEM vendor partnerships, their existing momentum (in terms of market and mind share) and customer acceptance of dual-core (technology)," he explained.

He noted that it will take some time for the broader mainstream market to fully comprehend the benefits of dual-core architecture and adopt the technology.

Software licensing issues will also have to be ironed out. HP's Chu said that corporations will be mindful about how much more they will have to fork out, in terms of software licenses, if they move to a dual-core platform.

He added that some ISVs charge by the number of processors and may choose to up their fees for a dual-core system. While based on a single-chip architecture, dual-core machines are said to run like a multi-processor system.

It may also take some time before such issues are resolved as application vendors are just now considering multi-core processors in their pricing schemes.

For Teo Chin Seng, CIO of Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering), an upgrade will depend on the ability of a dual-core platform to offer better performance at a lower price. The question, he said, should be whether such chips can produce low-cost server systems.

"As end-users, we look for better price performance, so it's not about the CPU cost but the total cost of a system that uses the chip," he explained. "If it provides better price performance, we will certainly look at using dual-core processors in our servers."

Teo added that several factors affect the overall performance of a system including other chipsets, memory and buses. "Together they determine the effective speed or computing power. Having a faster core without more efficient memories or chipset may not increase the computation power of a server," he noted.

"How fast the server is for a given price is the key for us," he said, adding that his organization measures the processing speed of a server by running an application over the system.

Teo said ST Engineering will "go for it" if the server can support a particular software based on faster performance and at a better price. "Whether it is single, dual or multi-core, the (eventual) performance is more critical."

According to IDC's Saxena, early adopters will likely be companies that depend on high-performance desktops and workstations and run applications in a clustered server environment.

"Blade (servers) is definitely one such area where the compute capacity per footprint will shoot up with dual-core, and the benefits AMD brings from a power consumption perspective will make the offering more compelling," he said.

To gain further traction in the market, AMD will need to build a stronger relationship with its OEMs or create new alliances with second-tier server vendors and ties with local ISVs, he noted. These would increase its sales avenues, he said.

HP's Chu said that AMD is "very proficient" in running most 32-bit applications, and this is what mainstream customers typically look at.

"Opteron consumes low power and less heat, which would otherwise give raise to higher electricity bills. Heat and performance make a good value proposition…that's an important criterion for customers, which is why mainstream customers look at AMD."

But Chu agreed with Intel's Wu that applications will need to be "dual-core aware". Otherwise, while the software may still run, it may not do so at the optimized performance that a dual-core platform would provide for, he noted.