In contrast, the UltraSparc IIIi+, which had been scheduled to arrive in 2005, has a single processing core that can execute a single thread. It will be used to update current low-end Sparc servers such as the V440, V240 and V210.
Sun doesn't have the resources to simultaneously test and qualify servers using both processors, Ingram said. In particular, government requirements called "reduction of hazardous substances" is requiring Sun and its suppliers to switch many new electronic components that must be retested, he said.
Niagara doesn't necessarily execute a single task faster than more-conventional processors, but it's designed to rapidly switch from one task to another so the chip can stay gainfully occupied while one task waits to fetch data from relatively slow memory. The result is that it can perform more tasks at the same time, giving it 15 times the throughput of an UltraSparc IIIi processor. The UltraSparc IIIi+, in contrast, will have only double the throughput.
Ingram hinted that Niagara might exceed that factor of 15. "The performance will be at least 15x. It might be even better," he said.
Niagara systems will have a single processor, but Sun plans different server models with various memory and expansion capacities, Ingram said.
Power consumption is a big part of the Niagara sales pitch.
The processor consumes 56W, Sun has said. Opterons consume 95W, and Xeons consume between 90W and 130W, Brookwood said. "Everyone in data centres these days is focused on power," he said.
Also coming in the second half of this year are new high-end systems with the UltraSparc IV+, a sequel to the current UltraSparc IV. Those systems could help lagging high-end system sales that have hurt Sun of late, Ingram said.
Sun also plans to release Opteron-based systems in the second half of the year. High-end servers have great profit margins but don't ship in large volume; low-end servers have the opposite properties, but the Opteron machines will be comfortably in between, Ingram said.
"That's the sweet spot," Ingram said. "That's where Sun has always made most of its money."
