Intel Announces Next-Generation Intel Xeon Phi Processors

Today at the International Supercomputing Conference, Intel announced new details for its next-generation Intel Xeon Phi Processors, coded-named Knights Landing, which includes a new high-speed fabric, Intel Omni Scale fabric. The fabric will be integrated in the next-generation processors to address performance, scalability, reliability, power, and density requirements to accelerate the rate of scientific discovery.

Today at the International Supercomputing Conference, Intel announced new details for its next-generation Intel Xeon Phi Processors, coded-named Knights Landing, which includes a new high-speed fabric, Intel Omni Scale fabric. The fabric will be integrated in the next-generation processors to address performance, scalability, reliability, power, and density requirements to accelerate the rate of scientific discovery.

Knights Landing

The next-generation Intel Xeon Phi Processor, Knights Landing, will be available as both a standalone processor mounted directly on a motherboard socket and as a PCIe-based card option. Programming complexities and bandwidth bottlenecks of data transfer over PCIe are removed with the socketed option. The PCIe-based card option is for customers preferring discrete components and a fast upgrade option without needing to upgrade other system components.

Key features include:

• 16GB of high-bandwidth, on-package memory that will be five times better bandwidth compared to DDR4 memory and five times better energy efficiency and three times more density than GDDR-based memory
• More than 60 HPC-modified Silvermount architecture-based cores
• Is expected to deliver more than 3 tera-FLOPS of double-precision performance and three time the single-threaded performance compared to current generations.
• Support for DDR4 memory
• Binary-compatible with Intel Xeon processors

Omni Scale Fabric

Omni Scale Fabric is designed for next-generation HPC. Omni Scale Fabric will be integrated in the next-generation of 14 nanometer Intel Xeon Processors. The new fabric is a combination of acquired IP from Cray and QLogic, as well as Intel’s own in-house innovations. It will include a full product line: adapters, switches, director switch systems, open software management and tools. 

Availability

Knights Landing processors are scheduled to power commercial systems in the second half of 2015

Both Knights Landing and Omni Scale Fabric will be available as separate PCIe-based add-on cards. Omni Scale Fabric is compatible with True Scale Fabric so customers can transition to the new fabric technology without changing applications. Intel also offers a program to upgrade True Scale to Omni Scale when it is available. 

Intel Phi page