Executing on Our Throughput Computing Strategy

These days IT shops worldwide are finding themselves between a rock and a hard spot. To beat the competition, you must deliver innovative network services, but your IT budget and resources are stretched to their limits. You need to do more with less — and fast.

Sun understands the predicament you're in, and we're readying a powerful solution. In last August's edition of Inner Circle, Andy Tucker shared our throughput computing strategy with you. This strategy will revolutionize the economics of network services by significantly increasing the performance of your network applications.

Sound impossible? Well, it's not. By taking a radical approach to processor design that focuses on maximizing throughput — or the aggregate amount of work done — instead of megahertz, Sun's new family of UltraSPARC processors will enable systems to efficiently process your ever-growing, thread-rich workloads.

Multithread Execution Makes Throughput Soar

We are accomplishing this by using breakthrough chip multithreading (CMT) technology to overcome the crippling bottleneck of memory latency. While today's processors run at extremely high frequencies, they sit idle as much as 75 percent of the time because they must wait for much slower memory to retrieve needed data.

Aiming to transform these wasted cycles into useful work, we decided to design a processor that can execute tens of threads simultaneously instead of just one. When a thread stalls out waiting for memory, the processor can still be working on other threads, making your overall throughput soar.

Far from being engineering fantasies, our powerful CMT processors will be rolled out in a phased approach starting this year. In the first half of 2004, we will deliver the first members of our UltraSPARC IV family of processors. Targeted for mission-critical enterprise, HPC, and compute-intensive applications, these Generation 1 CMT processors will enhance current UltraSPARC III system throughput initially by up to two times and later by as much as four times.

Down the Road, Up to 30x Throughput Increase

Next, in 2005/2006, we will release a more radical Generation 2 CMT design that will increase the throughput of today's UltraSPARC IIi systems by up to 15 times. Further down the road, our Generation 3 CMT processors will boost throughput by up to 30 times.

Our Generation 1 UltraSPARC IV processor will introduce CMT technology into Sun's current mid-range and high-end server lines. As part of our commitment to investment protection, these processors will maintain Sun's long tradition of binary compatibility, enabling you to run your existing applications on the new processors without recompilation.

Supporting both Solaris 8 and 9 Operating System, the UltraSPARC IV boards will also provide an easy upgrade path for existing Uniboard-based Sun Fire UltraSPARC III systems. In addition, you will be able to mix UltraSPARC III and IV boards within the same system or domain.

How are we delivering so quickly on such a revolutionary processor strategy? By leveraging our extremely unique and mutually beneficial partnership with Texas Instruments. For the past 15 years, Sun engineers have been pushing 64-bit processor logic to its limits while TI engineers have been taking process technology to new heights. This powerful synergy is enabling the development of our UltraSPARC IV processors on TI's state-of-the-art, 130-nanometer copper process technology.

Texas Instruments Partnership Delivers Dividends

As we continue to execute our throughput computing strategy, we will take advantage of TI's cutting-edge 90-nanometer technology to deliver radical Generation 2 CMT processor designs (code-named Niagara) in 2005/2006. Future process advancements will then pave the way for Generation 3 CMT designs.

Due to the significant benefits promised by our CMT processors, it's no surprise that our competitors are following our lead. But can anyone do it better than Sun? We think not.

For years we have been developing multithreading technology, providing us with a significant advantage over our competition. Sun's MAJC processor, which already is capable of executing multiple threads simultaneously, has been shipping in our graphics accelerators for several years. We have protected our intellectual property in multithreading by filing several patents, and we continue to invest heavily in this strategic technology.

You Focus on Competing — Not Computing

Furthermore, we are designing our UltraSPARC CMT processors from the ground up, leveraging 64-bit memory addressing capabilities, and taking full advantage of our unparalleled multithreaded Solaris Operating System. The breadth and depth of this expertise uniquely position Sun to bring throughput computing to market.

By packing the power of several of today's servers onto a single chip, Sun will radically reduce the cost and complexity of network computing while simultaneously increasing application throughput. Our CMT processors will significantly lower your total cost of ownership, enabling you to efficiently handle your network service growth, deliver new services, and even pursue new markets. As a result, you will be free to focus on competing, not computing.

As vice president and chief architect of Sun's Processor and Network Products group, Marc Tremblay sets future directions for Sun's processor roadmap. He is focused on advanced Sun's throughput computing initiatives, with advanced technologies such as chip multiprocessing and chip multithreading. He holds 72 U.S. patents in areas of computer architecture. If you'd like to share your thoughts on Sun's Throughput Computing strategy, send Marc an e-mail at innercircle@sun.com.