Compaq ProLiant 6500 Compaq ProLiant 7000 Server Technology - Page 3

ProLiant 7000 Server ECG078/0698 TECHNOLOGY BRIEF (cont.) ... INTRODUCTION In today's business environment, customers require powerful servers with fault-tolerant features to keep their businesses running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Compaq ProLiant 7000 Server provides breakthrough high-performance and high-availability technologies that keep the server up and running in the most demanding 7x24 environments. This technology brief explains the features of the new ProLiant 7000 Servers that support Pentium II Xeon processors, and how previously purchased ProLiant 7000 Servers can be upgraded to support up to four Pentium II Xeon processors. This upgrade path provides investment protection and gives customers confidence of a long life for the ProLiant 7000. This technology brief also describes the management technologies of the ProLiant 7000 Server. Many of these technologies are covered in more detail in separate technology briefs, which are referenced in this document. HIGH-PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGIES Pentium II Xeon Processor Technology The Pentium II Xeon processor uses the same core architecture as previous Pentium II processors, and it continues the same 32-bit technology line, which makes it fully software compatible with all current Pentium Pro and Pentium II processors. Like the Pentium Pro and Pentium II processors, the Pentium II Xeon uses dynamic execution techniques and a dual independent bus structure. The dual independent bus structure provides a separate bus between the processor and the secondary level 2 (L2) cache. See the technology brief Deschutes Family Processor Technology, document number ECG050/0698 for more details on the IA32 architecture and the Pentium II Xeon processor. The Pentium II Xeon processor provides higher levels of performance through architectural enhancements including: • 100-MHz AGTL+ system bus • Processor frequencies starting at 400 MHz and increasing to 450 MHz and beyond • Full-speed L2 cache bus • L2 cache configurations starting at 512 KB and 1MB and increasing to 2 MB • Slot 2 cartridge • Support for up to 64 GB of cacheable system memory • MMX technology 100-MHz AGTL+ System Bus An important enhancement is the move from the 66-MHz GTL+ bus used by the Pentium Pro and Pentium II processors to the higher frequency 100-MHz AGTL+ bus. This provides faster data pathways between the processor and random access memory (RAM), and between the processor and system peripherals. 400- and 450-MHz Core Processor Frequencies One of the most significant differences between the Pentium II Xeon processor and current Pentium Pro processors is the much higher processor frequency. Pentium II Xeon processors, currently at 400 MHz, are expected to reach 450 MHz by the end of 1998, and to increase beyond 450 MHz in later versions. 3