Chapter 2. Technology 23The x3950 X6 is an eight-socket server but also supports four and six processors installed.Figure 2-17 shows the x3950 X6 with only 4 processors installed. On the right of the figure,the effective connectivity is shown, where each processor is connected either directly to aprocessor or one hop away.Figure 2-17 QPI connectivity - x3950 X6 with 4 processors installedFigure 2-18 shows the x3950 X6 with only 6 processors installed. On the right of the figure,the effective connectivity is shown, where each processor is connected either directly to aprocessor or one hop away.Figure 2-18 QPI connectivity - x3950 X6 with 6 processors installedIn addition, the 8-socket server has ability to form two independent systems containing foursocket in each node, such as two independent x3850 X6 servers in one 8U chassis. Thispartitioning feature is enabled using the IMM2 interface. While partitioning is enabled, eachpartition can deploy its own operating system. Each partition uses its own resources and canno longer access the other partition’s resources.2.3 ProcessorsThe current models of the X6 systems use the Intel Xeon processor E7-4800/8800 v2 productfamily. The Intel Xeon processors that are used in the X6 systems are follow-ons to the IntelXeon processor E7-4800/8800 product family. The new processors feature the new Intelmicroarchitecture (formerly codenamed “IvyBridge-EX”) and the new 22 nm manufacturingprocess that provide higher core count, larger cache sizes, higher core frequencies, andhigher memory speeds. In addition, these new processors support more memory with up to24 DIMMs per processor and faster low-latency I/O with integrated PCIe 3.0 controllers.x3950 X6 with 4 processors21565 621321756x3950 X6 with 6 processors5 62173
