Manufacturers get more Xeon choices for communications, storage hardware

On January 9 2014, Intel introduced the Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 v2 product family, which some may know by its codename, Ivy Bridge-EN. This family is designed to offer performance and features to address applications for small and medium business, enterprise storage and entry into mid-range communications markets.

In his blog, Dylan Larson, Director of Xeon Platform Marketing, remarked that customers are looking for customised configurations to achieve the best possible performance and performance per watt for their applications. "We understand that and have expanded our portfolio to allow for a very fine-tuned choice when deciding about processors for the server, storage and communications markets," he said.

Larson shared that with the new family, the E5 product line now has more than 30 processors for 1S and 2S configurations. The new Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 v2 product family is based on Intel's 22nm manufacturing process and includes 12 different models. It complements the E5-2600 v2 product family launched in September 2013 with lower core counts, lower frequency and lower thermal design point (TDP) options.

For example, the E5-2400 v2 product family brings down the TDP to 50W, helping to drive down total cost of ownership (TCO). Lower TDPs are especially valuable for embedded designs in the communications market, as well as very dense server racks and blades.

The Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 v2 product family also includes storage extensions such as Asynchronous DRAM Refresh and x16 Non-transparent bridging that help to enhance data protection and replication which is valuable for storage hardware.

According to Larson, applications for the new family can include servers, blades, and appliances for communications infrastructure; medical, storage systems, and security applications; carrier-grade rack-mount servers; and proprietary form factors, such as router modules.