Intel launches next-gen scalable processor for data centres

Santa Clara, California headquartered chipmaker Intel has unveiled the third generation Xeon scalable processor for data centres.  

Codenamed Ice Lake, the platform is the most advanced member of the Xeon family and has been designed to power the industry’s broadest range of workloads, starting from the cloud to the network to the intelligent edge, according to Intel. 

It is based on the 10 nanometre process and can deliver up to 40 cores, with an average 46% increase in performance on popular data centre workloads, compared to the previous generations. In comparison to a five-year-old system, it promises up to 2.65 times higher average performance gain. 

The new data centre processor supports up to 6 TB of system memory per socket, the company said, while noting that it is also the only platform in the category that comes with built-in AI acceleration, extensive software optimizations and turnkey solutions.  

The chip offers 74% faster AI performance than the previous generation, helping customers leverage AI for every application from edge to network to cloud. 

Further, it also offeres enhanced data security with Software Guard Extension (SGX), which protects up to 1 TB of sensitive code and data by isolating and processing it private memory enclaves, as well as new features such as Total Memory Encryption and Platform Firmware Resilience. 

“Intel’s new 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors deliver flexible architecture with built-in AI acceleration and advanced security capabilities that are essential in a world of workload diversification and growing complexity,” Prakash Mallya, vice president and managing director for sales, marketing and communications group at Intel India, said.  

“Our robust ecosystem and broad portfolio of purpose-built solutions ensure customers can rapidly deploy Intel-based infrastructure optimized for the most demanding workloads,” he said. 

The platform has seen adoption across various market segments, with over 200,000 units already being shipped. More than 50 OEMs plan launch 250+ server designs based on the new chip, Intel said. 

In India, the early adopters of the platform include CtrlS, ESDS, Pi Datacenters, Reliance Jio and Wipro.