Intel, Cray Seek a Payoff Far Down the Road - Page 2

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"We will get to see technologies at a very deep level earlier in the development cycle," Ungaro said. "This allow us to connect their system-level interconnects with their chip-level interconnects so we can offer customers the full potential of the technology."

That means building better interconnects that connect the processors. High-performance computing differs from standard server operations in that it's extremely CPU-driven, while basic server tasks like database servers or Web servers are more bandwidth- and data-intensive.

High-speed interconnects are the secret sauce for AMD, helping it to become the x86 supplier to Cray five years ago -- thanks to its HyperTransport connector, which delivered a higher performance than Intel's NetBurst.

Since Intel was one of the first vendors to come out with multi-core compilers, it's no surprise that the company's software also is part of the agreement.

"We see this as recognition Intel has a strong tools portfolio," said Richard Dracott, general manager for the Intel HPC division. "We're looking to scale performance analysis tools and libraries to take advantage of larger scales."

While Ungaro insisted AMD is not being replaced outright, it still sounds like Intel gets to sit at the head of the table.

"This isn't about us dropping AMD for Intel for our processor supplier," he said. "It's about us and Intel partnering to build future systems that I think can change the future landscape as a whole."

Meanwhile, Intel in recent years has more than matched AMD in the interconnect space, Conway said, adding that the world's largest chipmaker is now focusing on HPC in a big way.

"Intel has changed its attention to the HPC market because they believe it is an incubator market for their technology, which they can drive down to their other products," he said.

"The thinking at Intel is they are not just building in those high-end functions for the high-end market, but their strategy is those technologies will migrate down to broader markets beyond HPC," he added.

The issue of maximizing multi-core processors, for example, will be addressed in the HPC sector first because Cray has decades of experience with computers that use thousands of processors.

"If you look historically, there are a lot of technologies that get adopted more quickly in HPC and trickle down to the mass market -- Linux and clusters, for example," Dracott said. "It usually takes a while, though."