Optimise performance, scale, and efficiency with Intel Xeon

In today's constantly evolving tech space and accelerated pace of change, only one thing is certain, and that is our dependence on technology to support critical IT operations, whether at the office, at home, or on the go. And at the heart of this technology, is the server, or the machine that stores, retrieves and sends files and data to other computers on its network.

Of course, all servers are not created equally, and businesses need to choose a server based on their performance requirements, appetite for downtime, security, scalability, and many more factors. However, today, new computing platforms, apps and servers are released on an almost daily basis, confusing companies, and leaving them to question whether they are choosing the right server, with the right specs to perform today and well into the future.

And at the heart of all this growth in computing power is the central processing unit or CPU, which is the engine that drives all of the complex computing processing to home servers, applications, virtual machines, and suchlike. Every year, we see a slew of processors released that promise cutting-edge specs, making last year's ones seem old and cumbersome, this only adds to the difficulty in choosing a new one.

Also, while the majority of organisations would not be able to stay in business without the right server, most don’t really know exactly how the server works, never mind its components. At the heart of every server lies the processor, it takes the information given to the server and literally processes it, by making sense of it and then sending it where it needs to go - it can be likened to the brain of the server. This is why having a good CPU is critical as it promises major enhancement to operations and overall management. In short, without a processor, a server is useless.

All processors have clock speeds, which determine how quickly the processor will process, or how long a user has to wait to get the information needed from a server. This is measured in GHz, and the faster the clock speed, the more rapid the processing. It’s easy to understand how in today’s incredibly fast-paced environment, speed is key to staying ahead of the curve, which is why a modern processor is crucial.

It is also important to remember that all CPUs are not the same, and when choosing the right server (and with it, the right CPU), being guided by a trusted partner who has the knowledge and expertise to know which device best suit your needs, can save a fortune of time and money in the long run. After all, little is more frustrating than attempting to open up a large application on your computer, and finding it takes so long that you could easily have a coffee break in the interim, or worse, one that overloads too easily and doesn’t get the job done.

At Tarsus, we know that when it comes to server processors, there’s no better option than the Intel Xeon range, the company’s high-end CPUs, for optimised performance, scale, and efficiency across a wide range of data centre, edge, and workstation workloads. With Xeon, business productivity is elevated with the consistent, open, Intel architecture that businesses around the world have come to know and trust. Not only is Xeon great for high-performance workstations, but it’s also crucial for any professional tasked with working with large amounts of key company data.

Intel Xeon processors are one of Intel’s state-of-the-art CPUs, which perform a slew of tasks on computers, ranging from running software programs to making calculations. At the heart of every processor lies the core, which reads instructions that are sent to it from the other parts of the machine, and it writes instructions for those other parts too. The higher the number of cores a processor has, the more instructions it is able to read and write, and the faster it can run programs, which is key in today’s fast-paced world.

Intel Xeon CPUs have a large number of cores and include special features that make them ideal for running intensive programs as well as mission-critical tasks. Possibly the most compelling of these features is error-correcting code (ECC) memory. In a nutshell, ECC memory helps prevent soft errors from happening while the processor is reading and writing information. Soft errors are a type of error where a signal or datum is wrong. They can be caused by a defect, often a mistake in design or construction, or they could arise from a broken component. A soft error happens when the CPU reads incoming units of data, or bits, but reads them differently than intended.

Unfortunately, soft errors can harm a company’s data in a variety of ways and could have devastating effects on organisations that store crucial information. Soft errors can harm a company’s data in several ways. They could have the most devastating impacts on businesses that need to store critical information. For instance, say a business sells a range of services, and when a buyer makes a purchase on his or her credit card, a soft error could see the transaction data being read incorrectly, and the client being over- or under-charged, which results in a poor customer experience or a loss of revenue, or both. And it’s not only companies that are affected. Soft errors can also impact the average computer user too. A soft error could see a photo being corrupted while being transferred from a camera to a PC, which would be unfortunate if the user had deleted all the pictures from their camera in the belief that they were all downloaded safely. Perhaps most dangerously, a soft error could cause an entire system to crash, which could see valuable company data being corrupted or lost, which opens the company up to harsh penalties from increasingly stringent regulators.

But not with Intel Xeon processors, as these clever CPUs have a core that’s sole job is rooting out errors while data is being written or read. The core employs a system called parity, which is a technique that checks whether data has been lost or written over when it is moved from one place in storage to another or when it is transmitted between machines. Xeon’s core can sort through the bits and figure out which one was incorrectly read and can do the same when the processor is writing data.

Another fantastic feature of Xeon CPU’s is Intel’s hyper-threading, which significantly increases their processing power, by allowing each core in the CPU to do two actions at the same time. Intel’s most powerful Intel Xeon processors boast 18 cores, and with hyperthreading, do the math, and you’ll see they have the processing power of a staggering 36 cores. This means they have the ability to handle heavier loads, they are more durable, and are built with ECC RAM.

Moreover, Intel Xeon comes fitted with a large CPU cache, which is like having extra memory that the processor can draw upon to speed up applications. Intel Xeon cache nearly doubles the number of its Core processors, stepping up the performance.

Regardless of whether it is supporting critical workloads at the edge, building a secure cloud, or helping professionals stay productive, there is an Intel Xeon processor designed to meet every organisation’s computing needs. There’s no doubt that processors are the most important component of any server, but it can be difficult to know what to prioritise when it comes to performance, manageability, security, and artificial intelligence features. A trusted partner like Tarsus Distribution will provide context and expertise about the types of CPUs available and give you the best advice on where to start your journey.

To find out more about Intel's Xeon range, contact us today.