It’s a common occurrence in many data centers: systems are running at peak capacity, workload demands are increasing, and it’s time to plan for the next server refresh cycle. But all too often, organizations take the path of least resistance and simply augment existing server resources with more of the same – a “go with what you know” approach.
That’s doubly unfortunate: for one thing, many existing data centers are outgrowing their physical footprint and are hard-pressed to accommodate the rack space and power/cooling requirements of additional server elements. But perhaps more important, by simply extending their current legacy capabilities, they’re missing out on a server refresh opportunity that would actually increase compute performance, storage/memory capacity and security while reducing their total footprint, power requirements and maintenance costs.
Presidio recommends that IT organizations planning for more server capacity or a complete server refresh cycle consider adopting a consolidation strategy deploying today’s servers based on the latest 3rd Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors and featuring Intel® Optane™ persistent memory PMem
Key benefits of servers with 3rd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors
Introduced in 2020, this third-generation processor represents a dramatic advancement for data center agility and scalable performance across compute, storage, memory, network and security. Designed for an organization’s most demanding workloads – from artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to high-performance computing (HPC), enterprise and more – the 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor has proved to offer a flexible, feature-rich platform. In fact, it’s the only data center processor with built-in AI acceleration.
As for processor features, among the most exciting is Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX), which employs application isolation technology to protect data in use from unauthorized modification, increasing app security. Its numerous features, popular with hyperscalers, include built-in VM-level encryption, offloading the task for greater functional efficiency.
Another acceleration feature, Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions 512 (Intel® AVX) applies ultra-wide 512-bit vector operations capabilities to accelerate workloads as varied as AI and deep learning, financial analytics, 3D modeling and digital rendering. In addition, Intel® Quick Assist technology provides security, acceleration and compression for data in motion and at rest.
These many features alone make the 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor a compelling reason to consider a server refresh – but when you combine the latest Intel Optane persistent memory, you’ll watch the advantages grow exponentially.
Optimizing the CPU benefits with Intel® Optane™ technology
Introduced in 2017 as a way to bridge the gap between storage and memory, Intel Optane technology is engineered for reliably high performance, extended endurance, and minimal latency to serve a wide range of workloads and use cases.
A key feature of this powerful memory/storage solution is Intel Optane persistent memory, which provides instant access to more data in memory, enabling servers to process greater volumes of data more quickly. Unlike DRAM, persistent memory remains even when the server is powered off, helping prevent data loss.
Another element of Intel® Optane™ technology is the Intel® Optane DC solid-state drive, which helps eliminate bottlenecks in data center storage and allows for large data sets more affordably. IT organizations using Intel Optane DC SSDs as a caching solution no longer need to worry about hitting the writes-per-day limitations of non-volatile memory.
Use case examples of 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors and Intel Optane PMem in action
Bring these two solution ingredients together and the benefits of 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors teamed with Intel Optane persistent memory are plainly evident in such applications as:
- SQL database, where performance is measured by transactions per second. Improved bus speeds and Intel Optane PMem run SQL server data warehouse queries 6.9X faster than without persistent memory.
- VMware consolidation benefits from how much memory can be incorporated into a single server. Typically, those servers are limited not by their CPU but by memory: populating a server using DDR4 or DDR5 memory and 64-gig DIMMs can grow expensive quickly. But the reduced cost and larger memory sizes of Intel Optane PMem enable more virtual machines (VMs) and better density at a lower cost per VM. The result: a data center that used to require ten servers can now handle the same workload with only eight, thus reducing the cost of hardware, energy consumption and management time.
Previously, the cost to build large systems with adequate memory was simply too high. But now, 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors and Intel Optane PMem are enabling a higher-performing solution in a reduced footprint, making a more compelling case today for a consolidation strategy.
It’s time to benefit from consolidation with your server refresh strategy
Whether current servers are maxed out or it’s simply time for the three- to five-year refresh cycle, IT organizations typically look to replace or augment legacy systems with more of the same. Now they have another option: consolidation on modern servers with the compute-intensive performance and cryptographic security of 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, and the instant access to massive data enabled by Intel Optane persistent memory.
Together these ingredients provide an opportunity for significant advantages:
- Performance gains in computing, memory and storage, network and security.
- Lower capital expenditures from having to acquire fewer servers on a smaller physical footprint.
- Reduced operational expenses from lower power and cooling requirements, as well as conserving costly maintenance and management resources.
Contact us to learn how your IT organization can benefit from these latest Intel technologies. A Presidio data center solution architect will analyze your existing environment, review current CPU performance and memory requirements, and configure a custom solution to meet your business needs today and tomorrow, powered by the 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor and Intel Optane persistent memory.
