Intel recently revealed a comprehensive preview of its forthcoming Intel Xeon product lineup, which is underpinned by a novel platform architecture. 

This platform marks a notable evolution for Intel Xeon, introducing a new Efficient-core (E-core) architecture alongside the established Performance-core (P-core) architecture. Code-named Sierra Forest and Granite Rapids, these new products promise enhanced simplicity and flexibility for customers, offering a cohesive hardware architecture and a shared software stack to effectively address crucial workloads, notably artificial intelligence.

According to Lisa Spelman, Intel's Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Xeon Products and Solutions, "Intel's Xeon roadmap is experiencing an exciting phase. Our 4th Gen Xeon shipments have recently exceeded one million units. We're anticipating the launch of our 5th Gen Xeon (code-named Emerald Rapids) in Q4 2023, and our 2024 data center product lineup is poised to make a significant impact on the industry."

During Hot Chips, Intel conducted two sessions that unveiled the technical specifications and features of the Xeon platform architecture, which is scheduled to debut in 2024. Additional insights were provided about the impending launch of the 5th Gen Intel Xeon processors later this year. Another session focused on the new capabilities offered by the Intel Agilex 9 Direct RF-Series FPGAs.

The new Intel Xeon platform leverages modular system-on-chips (SoCs) to enhance scalability and adaptability. This design approach enables the creation of a diverse product range that caters to the escalating demands for scale, processing power, and energy efficiency in AI, cloud, and enterprise environments. Moreover, this innovative architecture allows customers to optimize their investments by presenting two distinct socket-compatible processors that can be easily interchanged to accommodate a variety of workloads.

Key Features of the Intel Xeon Platform:

• Both P-core and E-core processors share intellectual property (IP), firmware, and OS software stack.
• Integration of the fastest DDR and new high-bandwidth multiplexed combined rank (MCR) DIMMs.
• Introduction of Intel Flat Memory, facilitating hardware-managed data movement between DDR5 and CXL memory, making total capacity visible to software.
• CXL 2.0 support across all device types with backward compatibility to CXL 1.1.
• Advanced I/O capabilities with up to 136 lanes PCIe 5.0/CXL 2.0 and up to six UPI links.

Intel Xeon Processors with E-cores (Sierra Forest):

• Enhanced to provide density-optimized compute in an energy-efficient manner.
• Offers 2.5x better rack density and 2.4x higher performance per watt.
• Supports 1S and 2S servers, featuring up to 144 cores per CPU and a low TDP of 200 W.
• Equipped with modern instruction sets, robust security features, virtualization support, and AI extensions.
• Incorporates foundational memory RAS features such as machine check and data cache ECC standard across all Xeon CPUs.

Intel Xeon Processors with P-cores (Granite Rapids):

• Optimized for delivering superior total cost of ownership (TCO) for high-core performance-sensitive workloads and general-purpose compute tasks.
• Offers 2-3x better performance for mixed AI workloads.
• Enhanced Intel AMX with support for new FP16 instructions.
• Higher memory bandwidth, core count, and cache tailored for compute-intensive workloads.
• Socket scalability ranging from one socket to eight sockets.

Furthermore, Intel's Agilex 9 Direct RF-Series FPGAs incorporate Integrated 64 Gsps Data Converters, alongside a new wideband agility reference design. This configuration encompasses both wideband and narrowband receivers within a single multichip package, offering an unparalleled 32 GHz of RF bandwidth to the FPGA.

Intel's data center roadmap remains on course for timely delivery. The 5th Gen Intel Xeon processors (Emerald Rapids) are currently in customer sampling and are slated for launch in Q4 2023. Intel Xeon processors with E-cores (Sierra Forest) are scheduled for delivery in H1 2024, followed closely by Intel Xeon processors with P-cores (Granite Rapids). Impressively, Intel Agilex 9 Direct RF FPGAs were delivered to BAE Systems six quarters ahead of schedule, underscoring Intel's ability to promptly provide industry-leading capabilities through chiplet-based heterogeneous integration, facilitated by Intel's embedded multi-die interconnect bridge (EMIB) technology.