Intel has recently introduced the Intel Atom S1200 product family (Codename: Centerton) targeting high-density microservers (1000+ nodes per rack), and energy-efficient storage and networking systems. These new processors includes features such as error code correction, 64-bit support, and virtualization technologies required for use inside data centers, and consume as low as 6.1 watts.
Three models are currently available:
- Intel Atom S1220 @ 1.6 GHz – TDP 8.1 Watts
- Intel Atom S1240 @ 1.6 GHz – TDP 6.1Watts
- Intel Atom S1260 @2.0 GHz – TDP 8.5Watts
The SoCs include 2 physical cores and 4 threads enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology. The SoCs also include 64-bit support, a memory controller supporting up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, Intel Virtualization Technologies (Intel VT), 8 lanes of PCI Express 2.0, Error-Correcting Code (ECC) support, and other I/O interfaces integrated from Intel chipsets. Atom S1200 processors are manufactured using 32nm process technology.
Intel also announced that more than 20 low-power designs including microservers, storage and networking systems use the Intel Atom processor S1200 processor family from companies such as Dell, HP and Huawei. Those implementations leverage existing operating systems such as Red Hat and Windows Server 2012.
Looking ahead, Intel is working on the next generation of Intel Atom processors for microservers codenamed “Avoton”, which will use 3-D Tri-gate 22 nm transistors to provide better performance per watt for light scale-out apps such as simple content delivery solutions.
Intel Atom S1200 processors are available now, and the recommended price is $54 per unit for 1k orders. You can find more information on Intel Atom Processor S1200 Series for Server page, and in the press briefing presentation.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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“the recommended price is $54 per 1,000 units.”
Actually it is like:
“the recommended price is $ 54 per unit when ordering 1,000 units.
I don’t think you’ll get 1000 chips for your $ 54 😉
@Frans
Thanks! 🙂 Corrected.
Btw, Calxeda has written 2 articles about their views on the new Intel Atom S1200 processors, and compare it to Calxeda ECX1000:
http://armservers.com/2012/12/11/comparing-calxeda-ecx1000-to-intels-new-s1200-centerton-chip/
http://armservers.com/2012/12/12/what-is-a-server-class-soc/
Centerton is a terrible chip – even when compared to current ARM server chips. Here’s a more indepth analysis of why that is:
http://semiaccurate.com/2012/12/14/intel-and-arm-vendors-start-server-war-of-words/
@GeorgeV
Although I don’t feel (gut feeling) the Centerton is a great chip for microservers compared to other solutions, semiaccurate opinions do not always seem objective nor nuanced.
According to a few things I’ve read, estimating power consumption between server chips is a complex thing, and you need to see the hardware around them AND the application used. So some real life testing is needed.
One (Intel) guy left one insightful comment about Intel vs ARM server power consumption, and it’s possible ARM server advantage may not be as great as it appears. See http://www.cnx-software.com/2012/06/19/arm-vs-x86-servers-benchmark-calxeda-energycore-ecx-1000-vs-intel-xeon-e3-1240/#comment-9354