UltraSPARC-RF Details

Recently at the HotChips Conference, details about the next generation UltraSPARC Coolthreads processor, UltraSPARC-RF or Rainbow Falls as it is known, has been released. It is interesting that the designation is now RF and not KT. The presentations are focused on the challenges with creating a 16-core processor and the cryptographic technology that is embedded with the processor. Definitely a great read and insight into how Rainbow Falls works and what is in store for the future.

The most interesting parts deal with the cache coherency, flow-control, and the inter-node SMP coherency. Having servers with these processors will enable the CMT line to reach beyond the T5440 to the mid-range and possibly high-end server segments. With each processor having 16 cores and 8 threads, a 4-way server would have 64 cores and 512 threads. I would imagine that with the split coherency plane and cross-bar switch, one may be able to glue at least 4 UltraSPARC-RF processors with zero cost in specialized ASICs. This could significantly reduce the costs and complexity of such platforms up to 4 sockets. Beyond that, a specialized high-speed and low-latency interconnect would be required, as is the case on the T5440 today. It does beg the question if it's possible to create larger servers that could scale out across some standardized interconnect, perhaps Infiniband, to create modular SPARC servers capable of scaling out.

Of course a lot of details are left out in the presentations on the features of the Rainbow Falls processor. Some of the questions that come to mind are:

• The NCU is depicted in one slide. Is that the integrated 10Gb Ethernet controller?
• Is PCI-E v3.0 with PCI-IOV integrated? (This is still in the works from the PCI-SIG)
  
• Given the distributed and even heat profile of the die, will the processor fit into a typical air-cooled envelope?
• What process is the processor implemented in? (32nm or smaller?)
• What is the power envelope?
• Will DDR3 or FB-DIMMs be used?
• How will the cache coherency affect cache trashing in LDoms?
• How will the processor perform against T2 or SPARC64?
• How will it perform against single-threaded applications?
• What kind of clock speed would be deliverable with this architecture?
  
• Will this be manufactured by TI or TSMC?

Unfortunately, we'll have to wait to see how things will play out with the server line-up for Rainbow Falls. But it would stand to reason that this will be the workhorse for future CMT servers.

DoJ Approves Sun Acquisition

This is a little old and I apologize. But the US Dept. of Justice has approved the acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle. This brings the acquisition a step closer to completing since the share holders have already given approval. Now it is up to the EU to give approval and things can proceed to completion. Of course there has been a lot of speculation in the news as to Oracles commitment to Sun products, in particular SPARC and Solaris. Beyond the words spoken by Larry to Reuters very little has been stated publicly. Of course it's the right thing to do until everything is approved and completed. However, there are some glimpses into how Oracle will position Sun and Oracle products together.

Probably the best that is just starting to get attention is a pre-announcement of comparison of Sun Solaris SPARC servers outperforming the highest-end configured IBM Power configuration on the TCP-C transaction benchmark. It's this kind of marketing that Sun has desperately needed over the years. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until October 14 to find out more about the findings and details. Of course to those who have deployed large Oracle databases, this is no surprised as Sun servers are cheaper and perform just as well, if not better than the IBM Power servers in real-world usage. But the important things to pick up on this bit of marketing information are:

• Oracle is serious about positioning Solaris and SPARC with its software.
• Oracle wants to go "head-to-head" with IBM.
• Oracle will spend marketing money and effort on proving the value of Sun and Oracle products.
  
• Oracle is very serious about selling integrated products.

Also, if you look closely at the picture, you'll be able to tell that the servers are T5440's! It'll be very interesting to learn more when the announcement is made in October.