Intel Software Insight
®
A series for leaders of the software community
Multi-Core Capability
July 2005
2 Welcome 3 Transition to Multi-Core:
The Time Is Now Multi-core processors represent an exciting price/performance inflection point that potentially affects everyone in the computer industry
6 Analyst Viewpoint
Interviews with Vernon Turner of IDC and Martin Reynolds of Gartner, Inc.
8 Software Company Plans
for Multi-Core How Epic Games, Adobe Systems, and IBM use multi-core capability
Future topics
• Digital home • Virtualization and manageability • Digital enterprise • Mobilized software and wireless
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11 The Intel Software Network
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The Intel Software Network is a resource for the software community
visit www.intel.com/software/insight
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Intel® Software Insight | Multi-Core Capability
Welcome to the Intel® Software Insight Series!
This is the first issue of our new quarterly Intel® Software Insight Series for leaders in the software community. Each issue will explore how a new technology will impact the software industry, including both software companies that provide solutions and enterprise IT professionals who want to evaluate these technologies to solve problems they are encountering today. You will also see how Intel works with other participants in the industry to bring these technologies to market faster to solve customer issues and improve the end-user experience. This first issue focuses on the impact of multi-core processors: both the business opportunities for software companies and the impact on data centers. You will find articles from Intel experts and software company executives that articulate how multi-core processors can address issues enterprise IT managers are facing today, as well as interviews with well-regarded Gartner and IDC analysts. Please take a minute to subscribe at www.intel.com/software/insight and we’ll send you each issue. Intel provides the software community with the latest software development tools and resources through the Intel® Software Network. To sign up, see page 11. Let’s make this a two-way exchange. We look forward to hearing from you. If you would like to suggest topics for future issues or comment on this issue, please e-mail our editor, Charlene Hama, at charlene.hama@intel.com.
Richard Wirt
Vice President Intel Senior Fellow General Manager, Software and Solutions Group INTEL CORPORATION
CONTENTS
2 Welcome
3 Transition to Multi-Core: The Time Is Now
6 Analyst Viewpoint
8 Software Company Plans
2
COVER | EXIT
11 About the Intel Software Network
Intel® Software Insight | Multi-Core Capability
Transition to Multi-Core:
The Time Is Now
With multi-core processors shipping this year, now is the time to get ready
The introduction of multi-core processor–based platforms represents an exciting price/ performance inflection point that potentially affects everyone in the computer industry. Since multicore processors contain two or more complete execution cores on the same processor, users can take advantage of continued gains in both performance and capability. The flexibility and performance of multi-core processing is expected to enhance the user experience, bringing opportunities for new usage models to IT and client users in the enterprise as well as to the home user. The introduction of multi-core processors also presents significant business opportunities
Multi-core processors represent an opportunity to change the economics of the data center.
The Take-Aways
For software executives, the first priority is to make sure your applications effectively take advantage of the parallel processing capabilities of multi-core processors. For enterprise IT management, multicore capabilities present major opportunities to lower the cost of computing through server consolidation; greater compute capacity will enter the data center, making new applications more affordable.
for software companies. Home and enterprise applications that can exploit the parallelism delivered by multi-core processors can potentially increase their market segment share over those that are slow to make the transition. For enterprise IT management, multi-core processors represent an opportunity to change the economics of the data center and lower the total cost of ownership. Compute power will come in denser packages, server utilization can be increased, and infrastructures can be simplified.
Multi-core processors: in high volume
The time for action has arrived. Intel® multi-core processors are shipping now. In two years, Intel platforms—performance clients (desktops and mobile) and servers—will be mainly based on multi-core capability. The first processors are dual-core; a typical 2-way server with dual-core processors will support eight threads in Q1 2006. The effects of multi-core processing are pervasive. In June 2005, Intel had 15 multi-core projects underway or in production for desktop, mobile, and server platforms. Intel expects multi-core processors to be dominant by the end of 2006.
Figure 1. Expected penetration of multi-core processors in new systems shipped.
Segment Desktop (performance segment) Servers Mobile (performance segment)
2006✝ >70% dual-core 85% multi-core >70% dual-core
2007✝ >90% multi-core 100% multi-core >90% multi-core
Source: Intel Corporation
✝
Expected run rate at end of year.
CONTENTS
2 Welcome
3 Transition to Multi-Core: The Time Is Now
6 Analyst Viewpoint
8 Software Company Plans
3
COVER | EXIT
11 About the Intel Software Network
Intel® Software Insight | Multi-Core Capability
By the end of this decade, Intel expects to offer 32 threads running on an enterprise server platform. In fact, Intel is already working on a multiIntel is already working on a multi-core architecture that could eventually feature hundreds of execution cores on a single die. core architecture that could eventually feature hundreds of execution cores in a single processor. Says Richard Wirt, Intel vice president, Intel Senior Fellow, and general manager of the Intel Software and Solutions Group, “Software developers can look to Intel for the tools and methodologies to allow their software to automatically scale with the number of threads available in any given system as dual-core systems give way to multi-core systems comprised of four or more cores.” For more about Intel plans for multi-core processors, visit www.intel.com/multi-core.
Figure 2. Intel plans to offer eight threads on desktops and 32 threads on servers by the end of the decade.
Highlights of the Intel Multi-Core Roadmap
• The first dual-core desktop processors are shipping now • The first dual-core Intel® Itanium® processor is planned for Q4 2005 • Dual-core Intel® Xeon™ processors for both dual-processor and multi-processor systems are planned for shipment in Q1 2006. • The first mobile-optimized dual-core processor is planned for Q1 2006
Dates mentioned are for planning purposes only and subject to change without notice.
One capability stemming from this approach is virtualization. Intel has added hardware support that eliminates the need for virtualization software (virtual machine monitors) to patch the operating system. This results in a simpler, more reliable virtualization solution. Intel’s approach also makes the virtual machine monitor independent of the operating system, so it is easier to validate and support. Intel® Virtualization Technology is expected to be introduced in desktop and server
Serv er
32 Number of threads 16 8 4 2 1 1992
Clien t
processors during 2005 and 2006. Intel® Active Management Technology enables IT administrators to remotely manage networked platforms in any system state, helping to im2002
2008+
Source: Intel IDF 2005
prove productivity. This is only one example of how Intel’s digital office initiative is driving the major technological innovations that enhance management and security of today’s networked computing systems while also integrating those solutions into silicon. To learn more, see www.intel.com/technology/manage/iamt/.
The Intel systems approach to processor design
Intel is in a unique position to look at the coming generation of multi-processing systems from a total platform viewpoint. This comes from Intel’s software expertise gained from years of working closely with independent software vendors (ISVs) and corporate IT departments. The platform approach has identified several opportunities where capabilities in silicon can help solve larger issues such as server utilization and manageability—leading to total cost of ownership improvements in data centers.
Multi-core support resources from Intel
Intel has demonstrated leadership in advancing the development of software to improve the enduser experience. Intel collaborates with almost every part of the worldwide software community. Intel engineers work directly with software companies to help ensure that operating systems and applications are optimized for multi-core
CONTENTS
2 Welcome
Transition to Multi-Core: 3 Transition to Multi-Core: the is Now The Time Is Now
6 Analyst Viewpoint
8 Software Company Plans
4
COVER | EXIT
11 About the Intel Software Network
Intel® Software Insight | Multi-Core Capability
platforms. Consultants from Intel® Solution Services, a worldwide professional services organization, help companies capitalize on the full value of Intel® architecture through consulting focused on architecture transitions. Intel provides software development tools to improve developer productivity and software performance by exploiting the capabilities of new processors and platforms. The Intel Software Network (www.intel.com/ software) is Intel’s worldwide resource for the software community, providing software development products, services, tools, training, Intel has many employees dedicated to ensuring that software performs best on platforms using Intel architecture.
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Intel software knowledge is also built into tools, such as compilers, libraries, and utilities. According to James Reinders, director of marketing and tech support for Intel® Software Development Products, “By using Intel® tools, you benefit from our bestpractices knowledge for multiple processors.” A key message about multi-core programming is to be “thread smart”—make sure threads support parallel work so users reap the value of multi-core processors. Look to Intel® compilers and libraries for assistance. Intel libraries automatically take advantage of multiple processors. OpenMP* (a C++ and FORTRAN language extension delivered in Intel compilers) embodies many of Intel’s best-known threading methods to help developers take maximum advantage of multi-core platforms. Supplementing the capabilities of Intel compilers and libraries,
and expert advice. Says Wirt, “This entry point into Intel is the one place software developers can go to understand what resources Intel can
The Implications of Multi-Core Processors
For IT
The economics of data centers will be transformed by the introduction of multicore processors in a seamless way. It is the logical evolution from Hyper-Threading Technology and marks an inflection point that delivers the benefit of increased parallelism for tomorrow’s business. The dramatic changes will come over time from packing greater processing power into smaller physical spaces. New
system packaging concepts will emerge. Higher-density packaging will help server consolidation initiatives by reducing both acquisition costs and physical space requirements. Virtualization will enable higher server utilization, improving the return on multi-core investments. Other cost savings will come from an overall simplification in the data center. The availability of cost-effective compute power will enable new applications.
sure their applications are effectively exploiting the capabilities of multi-core. You don’t want to find out from your customers that your application is slower than those now offered by your competitors. There are great opportunities to leverage the move to multi-core processors and potentially gain a competitive advantage in the process. The key is to think outside the box. Look for ways that parallelism can be most beneficial to your customers— not just to increase performance, but to create new capabilities that can change the user experience.
For software companies
With multi-core processors on the market now, software companies need to make
provide to increase the readiness for multi-core platforms. We want to share everything from our vision of where computing is going in the coming years to specifics about hundreds of topics.” Much of the knowledge gained by Intel is packaged into training courses—both online and in the classroom. The Intel Software College is
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Intel® Threading Tools can help developers understand hot spots and data dependencies. All Intel tools support threading, but two tools help speed up programming for multiple processors: • Intel® Thread Checker can reduce the time needed to spot synchronization errors. • Intel® Thread Profiler identifies when threads are waiting for other threads to finish, a key cause of performance problems. g
dedicated to providing educational programs for everyone in the software community.
CONTENTS
2 Welcome
3 Transitionto Multi-Core: Transition to Multi-Core: The Time Is Now Time Is Now
6 Analyst Viewpoint
8 Software Company Plans
5
COVER | EXIT
11 About the Intel Software Network
Analyst Viewpoint
Intel® Software Insight | Multi-Core Capability
Vernon Turner:
Multi-core will be at the foundation of everything we do
This is an excerpt from an interview with Vernon Turner, group vice president and general manager of enterprise computing for IDC (www.idc.com). He is responsible for worldwide research in the areas of servers, enterprise software, networks, and services. To see the complete interview, visit www.intel.com/software/insight/idc. How significant is multi-core processing for the IT industry? will absolutely take over the market. So if you’re planning to deploy new software or update existing software, now is the time to talk to your software vendors about licensing. Then you will be ready to deploy on multi-core servers in 2006. What are the licensing issues? It is tricky to predict future software licensing models. Pricing could be based on transactions, seats, the number of cores, sockets— it’s up in the air at this point. In the midrange server market—where 100,000 servers are sold per year—I don’t think we will see an impact on software licensing costs because the volume is not great enough to affect software revenue streams. On the other hand, when multi-core penetrates the single- and dual-processor volumeserver market, where several million servers are sold each year, the software industry could become more creative. They might introduce licensing fees based on the number of cores. If this happens, it will be toward the end of the second generation of multi-core processors— and IT managers will stand up and complain. Microsoft is taking a leadership role by basing its Microsoft Windows* licensing fees on the number of sockets—not cores or CPUs. This pricing model challenges Oracle, which continues to price based on the number of cores. While we are very early in the rollout of multi-core, I think Microsoft has adopted a shrewd business model.
Use of this article for any other purpose without prior permission from the author is strictly prohibited.
“Multi-core processing will change the way we think, build, and manage IT infrastructures.”
—Vernon Turner Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Computing IDC
Multi-core processing will change the way we think, build, and manage IT infrastructures. Why? When you quadruple the capacity of today’s servers with multi-core processors, you can run new workloads. Typical 4-way servers will handle jobs that previously required midrange or high-end symmetric multi-processing systems. As a result, we will move complex business processes, databases, data mining, and inquiry and data intelligence applications onto industry-standard multi-core servers. What will happen to the number of servers in data centers and their configurations? Multi-core processors will drive a change in the form factor of servers. They will increase compute density, which will, in turn, drive the need for increased systems management functionality to manage that explosion in capacity, which the software industry can capitalize on. However, I don’t expect the adoption of multi-core to be a massive virtual server consolidation exercise. I think multi-core processors bring an opportunity to compute in different ways than we’ve ever had before. What advice would you give to corporate IT management today? Recognize that multi-core processors will gradually spread throughout your desktops and servers. In the data center, start with the simple things, such as server consolidation. In the latter half of 2005, test the new multi-core servers. In 2006, 4-way dual-core processors
CONTENTS
2 Welcome
3 Transition to Multi-Core: The Time Is Now
6 Analyst Viewpoint
8 Software Company Plans
6
COVER | EXIT
11 About the Intel Software Network
Analyst Viewpoint
Intel® Software Insight | Multi-Core Capability
Martin Reynolds:
Multi-core is the single greatest performance advancement in PC processors
This is an excerpt from an interview with Martin Reynolds, a Gartner Fellow at Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). Martin follows emerging technologies and looks at how they will change the world. To see the complete interview, visit www.intel.com/software/insight/gartner. How significant is the move to multi-core processors? The multi-core initiative is probably going to be the single greatest performance advance Compute-intensive applications could go twice as fast on a dual-core processor compared to a single-core processor. However, a memoryconstrained application may be only 50 percent faster on a dual-core processor. And an I/Oconstrained application may not be faster at all. What advice would you offer desktop software companies? If you have an application that can benefit from parallel processing, make threading a priority in your company. The benefits can be enormous. Still, don’t thread an application just because you think you should. Any application that does not depend on speed is better off left alone. Also, thread assignment is very important in multi-core systems. Programmers need to make sure that their threads handle logically separate functions. Then their applications will perform better on both hyper-threaded and multi-core systems. What is the time frame for software companies to get ready for multi-core? The time is now. Plan for multi-core environments—not just dual-core. Assume there will be 4, 8, and even 16 cores in the future. Your customers are going to be testing your applications in the second half of this year, so you really want to be sure that your software can benefit from multi-core processors. If you have an application that should be multi-threaded but isn’t, your customers are going to notice that your application is slow compared to those of your competitors. You don’t want to learn that from your customers, so be proactive. g
Use of this article for any other purpose without prior permission from the author is strictly prohibited.
“If you have an application that can benefit from parallel processing, make threading a priority in your company.”
—Martin Reynolds Gartner Fellow Gartner, Inc.
we’ve ever seen in the PC processor. For those applications that can take advantage of it, you’ll get a 50 to 60 percent performance boost. We haven’t seen that since the original transition from the Intel® 80286 processor to the Intel386™ processor. What is the impact of multi-core on desktops? Today, only a few desktop applications are designed to run on two processors at once. Multi-core processors will dramatically improve the performance of games. Microsoft Office* applications run on only one processor, but we really don’t need them to run any faster. Multiple processors can help improve the performance of many desktop applications— multimedia, simulations, databases, design software, and so on. In addition, multi-core desktops can benefit users even if each application is not using the multiple cores. Today, there are many desktop tasks that can slow down users—antivirus scanning and updates are great examples. When you have a multi-core device, one processor can do the user’s work while the other handles those background tasks. How much will multi-core processors boost desktop performance? Semiconductor manufacturers are scaling back clock speed as they introduce multi-core processors so the chips run cooler. This means that the performance of single-threaded applications will go down a little, although it won’t be enough to notice.
CONTENTS
2 Welcome
3 Transition to Multi-Core: The Time Is Now
Analyst Viewpoint 6 Analyst Viewpoint
8 Software Company Plans
7
COVER | EXIT
11 About the Intel Software Network
Software Company Plans
Intel® Software Insight | Multi-Core Capability
Software Company Plans for Multi-Core
Multi-core Changes the Game for Epic
How big a deal is multi-core processing for game developers? We asked Mark Rein, vice president at Epic Games, who says, “When the Intel folks first told us that they were taking a multi-core approach, we cheered and clapped. For our customers, it is all about performance and experiencing many different things in parallel. There is no question that we will be able to use as many cores as Intel can throw at us.” Better, faster, smoother games with more detail—that’s how multi-core processors will improve the experience for gamers. Says Rein, “Take our next Unreal* Tournament game as an example. With Unreal Engine 3, we will be able to take advantage of multi-core processors to deliver a superior experience.” Rein describes one thread that has really improved Epic games. “We call it asynchronous background loading. As the player moves to the next part of the map, the game loads those scenes in advance. Picture driving from Nevada to California in a game—when you get to California, the game will have already loaded California scenes, so the transition between locations is seamless. Asynchronous background loading enables us to show a large amount of detail without having to load it all in memory at one time. This will mean the end of loading screens once the game is in progress.” Epic will be threading functions that have the greatest benefit to their users—audio and physics functions will have their own threads, for example. But being smart about threading is essential. Epic developers avoid threading functions where doing so would provide minimal performance benefits or drastically increase complexity for programmers. The main game loop, for example, is not threaded because it does not require more computing power than a single core can provide. After years of working closely with Intel, Rein says, “Intel gives us visibility into the future so we can build better plans today. We also use Intel® software tools to help us get the most out of Intel® processors.” Looking to the future, Rein is excited about what we can expect to see when the majority of gamers have multi-core processors. “Today, we have voice over IP in Unreal Tournament 2004. Down the road when everyone has multi-core, we will be able to enhance in-game user-to-user communication by adding real-time high-quality video. Imagine a window in the game where you conduct real-time video communication with your teammate while the game is taking place. That’s going to be very cool, but it will take a lot of CPU power to accomplish that while still rendering a high-definition game environment. That is something that is not practical today in a single-core environment, but is completely plausible with multi-core. You could even expect to see multiple video windows in the future.”
CONTENTS
2 Welcome
3 Transition to Multi-Core: The Time Is Now
6 Analyst Viewpoint
8 Software Company Plans
8
COVER | EXIT
11 About the Intel Software Network
Software Company Plans
(continued)
Intel® Software Insight | Multi-Core Capability
For Adobe, Foresight Brings Immediate Benefits to Users
Adobe Systems is no newcomer to multi-threaded applications. Its image and video
applications have supported multi-processor systems for over a decade. Adobe digital imaging applications use threading to speed up almost all aspects of image processing. Video applications such as Adobe Premiere* Pro use threads to process and render video frames faster. Through multi-threading, Adobe applications make maximum use of the hardware in order to increase the application’s responsiveness. This enables faster—even real-time—data manipulation. And how does the availability of multi-core processors change things for developers at Adobe? According to Marc Pawliger, director of digital imaging engineering, “Multi-core systems are the next step in the evolution of multi-processor systems.
“Multi-core systems are the next step in the evolution of multiprocessor systems.”
—Marc Pawliger Director of Digital Imaging Engineering Adobe Systems
Our applications currently support multi-core processors in the same way they support discrete multiple processors— no changes are needed to support multi-core processors. We are very excited about the potential of providing the advantages of multiple processors to our customers at an attractive price point. With a lower system cost compared to multiple discrete processors, we expect to see many such systems in use by our hobbyist users as well as by our professional customers.”
CONTENTS
2 Welcome
3 Transition to Multi-Core: The Time Is Now
6 Analyst Viewpoint
8 Software Company Plans Software Company Plans
9
COVER | EXIT
11 About the Intel Software Network
Software Company Plans
(continued)
Intel® Software Insight | Multi-Core Capability
IBM DB2* Database Exploits Multi-core Processing to Help Customers Gain a Competitive Advantage
According to Bob Picciano, vice president of database servers at IBM, Intel multi-core architecture is a significant advance for his customers. He says, “Top of mind, our customers are looking for ways to grow their businesses. One of the key ways to achieve top-line growth is to better understand the information within your business—and achieve that understanding as fast as you can. You want to put the greatest computing capability possible behind any application that helps achieve that objective. The IBM DB2* database is certainly one of those applications. The more that a database can exploit multiple parallel processors, the faster the work will get done. That can translate into a competitive advantage for the business.” Multi-core servers can be introduced into a data center transparently. Picciano says, “The same DB2 code runs on single-core processors as well as multi-core processors. As a result, all the same autonomic capabilities that give DB2 a strong position in total cost of ownership—the ability to manage through automated tools—are fully functional in a multicore environment. DB2 will simply get more work done on those multiple cores without any changes by IT.”
“The more that a database can exploit multiple parallel processors, the faster the work will get done.”
—Bob Picciano Vice President of Database Servers IBM
There is a strong working relationship between IBM and Intel, which goes back many years, to optimize IBM data management software for Intel architecture. “Our work encompasses the overall architecture of DB2. We use Intel compilers to make sure we exploit all the capabilities of the Intel architecture,” says Picciano.
There has been significant discussion in the industry about software pricing in a multi-core world. Says Picciano, “IBM has priced DB2 software on a per-socket basis for Intel® x86 architecture, not on a per-core basis. Therefore, the licensing fees for a dual-core server are the same as those for today’s single-core servers. This enables our customers to leverage this new technology without having to incur additional software costs. This is a great value proposition: the transition to DB2 on multi-core servers requires no changes technically and no changes to the license either. DB2 is the only database in the market that provides this great value on both Linux* and Windows systems.” Because of the improved price/performance, Picciano’s advice to IT managers is to evaluate multi-core processors as soon as possible. “It is important to become familiar with the advantages of the multi-core approach. DB2 on servers using Intel multi-core processors can form the foundation of information systems that truly provide a competitive advantage.” g
CONTENTS
2 Welcome
3 Transition to Multi-Core: The Time Is Now
6 Analyst Viewpoint
8 Software Company Plans Software Company Plans
10
COVER | EXIT
11 About the Intel Software Network
Intel® Software Insight | Multi-Core Capability
A Checklist of Intel Resources
❏ Subscribe to Intel Software Insight. Visit www.intel.
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❏ Look for no-cost online courses as well as fee-based classroom training from the Intel Software College
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com/software/insight. ❏ Experience the enterprise with 64-bit computing and multi-core. Get software development tools, test drives, training, and Webcasts at www.intel.com/ software/enterprise. ❏ Tap multi-core resources at www.intel.com/software/ multicore. ❏ Use Intel programming tools, such as compilers,
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at www.intel.com/software/college. ❏ Learn more about Intel Solution Services at www.intel.
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com/go/intelsolutionservices. ❏ Sign up for the Intel Early Access Program to receive
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access to pre-release Intel platforms, tools, and support along with introductions to co-marketing opportunities. Available to software companies at www.intel.com/software/eap. ❏ Sign up for the Intel Software Network at
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libraries, Intel VTune™ Performance Analyzer, and
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threading tools. Visit www.intel.com/software/products.
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Resources from the Intel® Software Network
The Intel Software Network is a comprehensive portfolio of support services—both on and off the Web—for the software community. Intel Software Development Products, services, tools, training, and expert advice can help remove the barriers to bringing more innovative products to market faster. Vision: Backed by Intel research and development and work with leaders in the software community, Intel visionaries can help you plan for the future. Collaboration: Cooperative relationships with Intel can lead to product breakthroughs and go-to-market advantages. Services: Intel® professional services provide individualized assistance to help solve business problems. Tools: Using the latest Intel software tools can improve application performance by harnessing the power of innovative platforms based on Intel® technology. Training: Classroom and online training from Intel can help development teams capitalize on today’s technology trends to deliver more compelling products.
Copyright © 2005. Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel386, Intel Xeon, Itanium, and VTune are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. This document is for informational purposes only. INTEL MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT. Dates mentioned are for planning purposes only and subject to change without notice. 0605/XXX/TDA/XX/XK 308236-001US
CONTENTS
2 Welcome
3 Transition to Multi-Core: The Time Is Now
6 Analyst Viewpoint
8 Software Company Plans
11
COVER | EXIT
11 About the Intel Software Network