تحميل الهوت ميل الجديد مجانا 2010 hotmail

C++ is a type of computer programming language. Created in 1983 by Bjarne Stroustrup, C++ was designed to serve as an enhanced version of the C programming language. C++ is object oriented and is considered a high level language. However, it features low level facilities. C++ is one of the most commonly used programming languages. 
The development of C++ actually began four years before its release, in 1979. It did not start out with the name C++; its first name was C with Classes. In the late part of 1983, C with Classes was first used for AT&T’s internal programming needs. Its name was changed to C++ later in the same year. C++ was not released commercially until the late part of 1985. 
Developed at Bell Labs, C++ enhanced the C programming language in a variety of ways. Among the features of C++ are classes, virtual functions, templates, and operator overloading. The C++ language also counts multiple inheritance and exception handling among its many features. C++ introduced the use of declarations as statements and includes more type checking than is available with the C programming language. 
Considered a superset of the C programming language, C++ maintains a variety of features that are included within its predecessor. As such, C programs are generally able to run successfully in C++ compilers. However, there are some issues that may cause C code to perform differently in C++ compilers. In fact, it is possible for some C code to be incompatible in C++. 
The C++ computer programming language was created for UNIX, providing programmers with the advantage of being able to modify code without actually changing it; C++ code is reusable. Also, library creation is cleaner in C++. The C++ programming language is considered portable and does not require the use of a specific piece of hardware or just one operating system. 
Another important feature of C++ is the use of classes. Classes help programmers with the organization of their code. They can also be beneficial in helping programmers to avoid mistakes. However, there are times when mistakes do slip through. When this happens, classes can be instrumental in finding bugs and correcting them. 
The original C++ compiler, called Cfront, was written in the C++ programming language. C++ compilation is considered efficient and fast. Its speed can be attributed to it high-level features in conjunction with its low-level components. When compared to other computer programming languages, C++ can be viewed as quite short. This is due to the fact that C++ leans towards the use of special characters instead of keywords.

Day by day computers are getting more advanced. Capacity and performance are increasing with every passing year. This is true for the primary storage also. Latest Hard disks are getting bigger in capacity and with higher rotational speed can access the data faster. This is good news for computer users. The digital revolution has brought with it the need to store vast amounts of data. The new Hard disks are ready to take the challenge. Whats more, these Hard disks with higher capacity are affordable.

Thanks to a very competitive market and demanding consumers. Hard disk technology is suitable for the speed demands of todays applications. The 7200 rpm hard disk drives with a minimum storage space of 40 GB and above are now more common than ever before. The demand for storage in PCs has boomed. With a lot of multimedia files being used today, including MP3, Flash files and movies—even todays entry level 40 GB hard disks are often proving to small for many users. Consequently, 80 – 400 GB, 7200 rpm drives are also available and are preferred by professionals.

Depending on your need, you should select the proper hard drive. Ask yourself few questions, before going for the selection of a new hard drive. This strategy will be useful in the long run. Think of the following points.

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  Hard drive storage capacity,

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  Rotating speed,
  
  
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  Transfer speed
  
  
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  brand and price

1) First select the Hard drive storage capacity

• What software, you will loading in your computer.
  
• What type of files, you will be loading.

If you are a basic computer user, go for the 40 to 80GB hard drive which is sufficient for OS and file storage. Text files require very little storage space however multimedia files require large storage space. If you are a gamer or a graphic designer, go for a minimum 80 to 120 GB hard drive. If you are a movie or song lover who would be storing a lot of movies then go for the higher capacity of 240 GB depending on your budget.

2) Second select the proper speed.
The most common speeds which are available in the market are 5400 and 7200 RPM. The 5400 RPM means the hard disk will be rotating at a speed of 5400 revolutions per minute. The faster the rotating speed the faster the hard drive. Now there is not much price difference between 5400 and 7200 rpm so it is generally better to go for a 7200 RPM hard drive.

As to transfer speed, there are 2 main types used. The old IDE (or ATA) kind, which comes in 4 flavors: ATA33, ATA66, ATA100 and ATA133, each number corresponding to the transfer rate in MB/s, the bigger the faster. This type is pretty standard. If your computer is older, you may only be able to use this kind, and depending how old will determine which speed. SATA is a newer kind. It uses a different cable and allows much faster information transfer. The slower kind is 150MB/s and the faster (SATA ll) transfers at up to 300MB/s, so they are much faster than IDE.

3) It is also generally better to go for a standard brand.
Seagate, Maxtor, Western Digital, Samsung, Hitachi and Mitsibishi are the standard brands available in the market. The above suggestions are for your internal hard drives. If you have to carry data frequently, you can go for an external hard drive. These drives can be connected to your computer through a USB port. There is absolutely no difference between an external hard drive and internal hard drive if you consider the operation or drive mechanics. The USB interface has made external hard drive installation very user friendly. External hard drives give alot of portability. However these external hard drives have a higher access time compared to a desktop internal drive because of the USB connection (bit like a small water pipe compared with a big water pipe). Iomega, Freecom and Transcend are some of the manufacturers of external hard drives. These drives normally require an external power supply and are most suitable for additional desktop/laptop backup or storage space. When youre selecting an external hard drive, check whether the manufacturer is offering a carry bag, data cable and power supply if it is externally powered. Also check the warranty offered by the manufacturer. Now a days, some of the manufacturers offer 3 year warranties.

Wi-Fi, which stands for wireless fidelity, in a play on the older term Hi-Fi, is a wireless networking technology used across the globe. Wi-Fi refers to any system that uses the 802.11 standard, which was developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and released in 1997. The term Wi-Fi, which is alternatively spelled WiFi, Wi-fi, Wifi, or wifi, was pushed by the Wi-Fi Alliance, a trade group that pioneered commercialization of the technology.

In a Wi-Fi network, computers with wifi network cards connect wirelessly to a wireless router. The router is connected to the Internet by means of a modem, typically a cable or DSL modem. Any user within 200 feet or so (about 61 meters) of the access point can then connect to the Internet, though for good transfer rates, distances of 100 feet (30.5 meters) or less are more common. Retailers also sell wireless signal boosters that extend the range of a wireless network.

Wifi networks can either be “open”, such that anyone can use them, or “closed”, in which case a password is needed. An area blanketed in wireless access is often called a wireless hotspot. There are efforts underway to turn entire cities, such as San Francisco, Portland, and Philadelphia, into big wireless hotspots. Many of these plans will offer free, ad-supported service or ad-free service for a small fee. San Francisco recently chose Google to supply it with a wireless network.

Wifi technology uses radio for communication, typically operating at a frequency of 2.4GHz. Electronics that are “WiFi Certified” are guaranteed to interoperate with each other regardless of brand. Wifi is technology designed to cater to the lightweight computing systems of the future, which are mobile and designed to consume minimal power. PDAs, laptops, and various accessories are designed to be wifi-compatible. There are even phones under development that would switch seamlessly from cellular networks to wifi networks without dropping a call.

The PS/2 standard, introduced by IBM in 1987, stands for Personal System/2. A PS/2 port is an electronic receptacle or plug found on computers. It accepts a PS/2 cable with a mini-DIN connector, and is most often used to plug in a keyboard or mouse.  
The PS/2 port is female while the mini-DIN cable is male. The connector is small with a diameter of about 1/3 inch (9.5mm). It features a metal sleeve that is notched to ensure proper alignment when inserting it into the PS/2 port. This protects the circular pins inside the DIN connector from becoming bent. 

The PS/2 port was initially a large DIN plug used for a keyboard, while the mouse was commonly plugged into a serial port. However, as modems also used serial ports, configuration conflicts between mouse and modem became a common problem as each tried to share the same IRQ or memory address. To fix the problem, one could purchase a “bus mouse,” or a card that could be installed in the computer and featured a rear PS/2 port for the mouse. The PS/2 mouse was a popular solution because it worked independent of the serial port and avoided configuration problems. Eventually, computers incorporated two built-in PS/2 ports, one for the keyboard and one for a mouse.  
If buying extension cable for your PS/2 keyboard or mouse, be sure to check the pin configuration to ensure you are purchasing the correct PS/2 cable. There are seven different configurations for mini-DIN plugs that all look like standard PS/2 port plugs at a glance. The cable should specify what equipment is it made for. S-Video cable looks similar to mini-DIN cables, for example, but the keyed notch in the metal sleeve and pin arrangement differ. 

Although PS/2 ports remain in widespread use, subsequent technologies have lessened the need for a PS/2 port. For example, many manufacturers of keyboards and mice have introduced models that utilize USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports instead. Other models are wireless. This gives the consumer the choice to bypass the PS/2 port all together.

The USB standard that all of us are currently using to power our mice, MP3 players, scanners, printers and assorted other peripherals is technically USB1.1. When it was originally introduced it was a heck of a lot faster than anything else around. Now USB1.1 is dated and ready to be usurped by a newer, faster standard you may have heard rumblings about. That new standard is called USB 2.0.

USB 2.0 operates at 480Mbps, about 40X times faster than USB 1.1 which currently works at a snails pace of just 12Mbps. For arguments sake, IEEE 1394 Firewire has transfer speeds of 400Mbps and has been around for a year or two now. Having had a taste of Firewire which has seen itself largely segmented to the digital video marketplace, USB2.0 is an exciting development. While there have been many devices launched under FireWire that enabled computers to have hard drives, CD-burners and similar devices located externally, the mainstream PC market never really seemed to embrace it – possibly due to the fact that it has become a standard on Mac computers.

While I have yet to see any mainstream manufacturer, or any for that matter drop IEEE 1394 FireWire onto a motherboard, MSI have already done the very same with USB 2.0 – a very good sign that it will see wide implementation amongst PC makers.

Wide implementation opens up the doors for more external devices like hard drives, CD-burners, DVD drives and other data-have devices. While this was technically possible with USB1.1, the data transfer times were so slow that it became impractical vs. IDE. With speeds of 480Mbps, USB2.0 takes care of these issues in almost the same manner that FireWire has. The main benefit is of course the backwards compatibility (both in terms of devices and interfaces) and lower cost of implementation USB2.0 brings to the table. USB2.0 uses the exact same cables and ports.

At the moment, USB2.0 drivers are not native to Windows XP. This may change with subsequent updates, and as more devices make the upgrade to the new standard. Intel have recently announced the D850MV-SE, a USB2.0 enabled Pentium 4 (RDRAM), and MSI have the 845Pro2-RU with USB2.0 support via NEC chipset. The groundwork is also there for USB2.0 networking, which would offer fast connectivity between PCs like MSIs PC-to-PC technology currently does on the USB1.1 standard.

Companies currently offering USB2.0 peripherals include: ACOM, Adaptec, Addonics, ADS Technologies, Archos, Argosy Research, ATEN Technology, Belkin, BusLink, DataFab Systems, DoTop Technology, Dura Micro, Fellowes Manufacturing, Fujitsu, Good Way Technology, I-O Data Device, Iogear, LaCie, Maxtor, Melco, Microtek International, Opteon Corp, Orange Micro, Pacific Digital, Plextor, QPS, Quik Tech Solutions, Ratox Systems, RocketPod, Seiko Epson, Siig, Sony, System Talks, and Yamaha who have a 20X CD-RW Recorder.

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a connection standard that was first developed by Hitachi, Panasonic, RCA, Silicon Image, Sony, and Toshiba in 2002.

With analog technologies moving to digital, youre probably cringing at the prospect of your entire VHS collection crumbling over time. Buying and installing a capture card— as well as figuring out how to use your PC to convert these tapes to digital format, is way complicated—but theres a superb alternative. The Sony DVDirect VRD-MC5  is the easiest way to convert your entire VHS collection (as well as video from your camcorder and photos from your digital camera) into DVD format, with one click of a button. All of this is done without the use of a PC, and you can see whats being recorded on its 2.5-inch LCD screen. Its worthy of an Editors Choice, just like its predecessor, the VRD-MC1, though this new model is unique in the market.

The Seagate FreeAgent Go is a new breed of portable hard drive: one with a prodigious capacity—500GB is larger than many internal desktop drives—as well as a convenient ability to dock the drive to a PC like you might with an iPod. The Go has a wealth of features that make it easier to back up your data than other drives do, which is one reason why Im giving it the Editors Choice for portable hard drives.

Too many people dont back up their important files (pictures of the grandparents with the kids, that rare CD they ripped and then lost, 15 years worth of résumé updates). All of this data is irreplaceable but is also a hassle to back up using traditional CDs or DVDs. A 500GB drive has enough space to keep multiple copies of each file. Thanks to the optional dock, which is a must-have, and the software, backing it all up is a breeze

The lifespan of a Dell Inspiron laptop is usually quite substantial, sometimes to the point where it becomes long in the tooth. Thus its unusual to be mourning the loss of the Dell Inspiron 1520 after only six months on the market. Stepping into the spotlight to replace it is the revamped Dell Inspiron 1525. While theres no miracle weight loss here, the 6-pound frame is nearly half a pound lighter than the 1520s, and the tapering design gives it a slimmer silhouette (similar to that of the Dell XPS M1530). An unpleasant side effect of going small, however, is that powerful graphics cards will not be offered as an option—only integrated graphics.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T77 ($299.99 direct) is a beauty. Its compact design, metallic features, and touch screen make it feel like a luxury item. Aside from color fringing in the corners of images, most users will find the shots they take dazzling. The cameras 3-inch LCD touch screen is very responsive, and the user interface is more intuitive than those of competing touch-screen models, such as the Nikon Coolpix S60 or the Kodak EasyShare v1073. The less-expensive Canon PowerShot SD790 IS ($249) and Nikon Coolpix S610c deliver images that are on a par with T77s, but they dont have touch screens and fun in-camera retouching options. Beyond that, this Cyber-shot is just handsome. Of course, as with any camera that employs a touch screen, battery life suffers.

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) and AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) are two different technologies used to connect expansion cards – such as video, sound, and graphics cards – to your PC. The main difference between the two is speed, particularly when it comes to processing graphics. Gone are the days of simple words and numbers – these days we expect our business, entertainment and educational software to impress us with fancy images, charts, icons, textures, and 3-D graphics. Software developers, aware of our expectations for graphics intensive applications, are continually pushing the technology envelope by incorporating larger and more complex images into their programs. As programs become more graphics intensive, they require more bandwidth and memory to display each screen and image. If bandwidth and memory resources are limited, a bottleneck occurs, causing the software, and generally the PC, to slow to a crawl while the graphics are processed. In the past, several attempts have been made to reduce the bottlenecks associated with graphics processing. A significant breakthrough occurred in 1993 when Intel introduced the PCI bus. The PCI standard uses a technique called bus mastering, which allows the CPU and expansion cards to process information simultaneously. The bus operates at a bandwidth of 66MHz, and PCI cards can communicate with the PC using 32- or 64-bit data. PCI provides fast communication between the CPU and peripherals, but peripheral devices have to compete with each other for bandwidth. The PCI bus is currently the highest performing general I/O bus used in PCs, and it provides adequate acceleration and processing features for most games, video and multimedia applications. PCI is able to handle 2D images and general business graphics quite competently, but it can be challenged by intense 3D graphics. Thats where AGP comes in. To create 3D images, the graphics controller must be able to manage texture data and z-buffer information. Texture data produces the digital representation of the surface of an object and generates properties such as transparency, which makes the object look more realistic; z-buffer information provides depth, which also increases realism. Both of these data sets are memory intensive, and unfortunately, both compete for the same memory space. Intel introduced AGP in 1996 in an attempt to solve this dilemma. The AGP specification is based on the PCI 2.1 specification, but unlike PCI, AGP is designed solely for use with graphics cards. Its not intended to replace the PCI interface as the general I/O interface bus; its primary purpose is to deliver high-performance graphics, including 3D imaging. AGP has the ability to quadruple the theoretical bandwidth of current PCI buses, and has the potential to perform even higher. This increased performance is achieved by introducing a dedicated point-to-point channel that gives the graphics controller direct access to main system memory. In addition, the AGP channel is 32 bits wide and runs at 66MHz, which translates into a total bandwidth of 266MBps. AGP also supports two fast modes, 2x and 4x, which have throughputs of 533MBps and 1.07GBps respectively. Features such as texturing and pipelining further enhance the graphics processing ability of AGP. Texturing, also called Direct Memory Execute mode, allows texture data to be stored in main memory. Pipelining is a process that enables the graphics card to send several instructions together instead of sending one at a time. AGP improves the overall performance of a PC in several ways: 1. Graphics operations are faster because they dont have to share bus bandwidth with other peripherals. 2. Peripheral devices are also faster because they dont have to share the PCI bus with the bandwidth intensive graphics operations. AGP operates concurrently with, and independent from, most transactions on the PCI bus. Since the AGP bus is handling all graphics tasks, the PCI bus is free to serve devices such as disk controllers, modems and network cards. 3. The quality of the 3D graphics created using AGP is very high, and since they are extremely realistic, the quality of both 2-D and 3-D software is improved.

Unfortunately, like most computer parts, computer hard drives have been appointed names and descriptions that are nearly always based on hi-tech gobble-de-gook terms. When looking at purchasing a new hard drive this will be your first issue to handle. And, the first term youll need to come to grips with is, “Do you want an IDE, ATA, or SATA hard drive??  Yes, sometimes shopping for computer parts can be a real head banging exercise.
                            
Recent years have seen many changes in hard drive technology. Like most things related to computers nearly of these changes have related to speed and size. To be more precise, faster (as to how quickly a hard drive can access and move information backwards and forwards) rather than slower and, larger (in the amount of data it can hold) rather than smaller. So, because performance is such an important selling point a large part of a hard drives description relates to either its particular size or speed.

ATA, SATA and SATA II
The terms ‘ATA’ (Advanced Technology Attachment), ‘SATA’ (Serial ATA) and ‘SATA ll  (Serial ATA 2) refer to both a measurement standard and an electronic method of transferring information (data) backwards and forwards between the hard drive and the rest of the computer. Kind of like the water pipe system between your house and the city water department – except in this case the water goes both ways. ATA in our water example would represent a method by which your cities water department can take water out of a reservoir and get it to your kitchen tap measured in minutes and gallons. The ATA computer standard is just one recognised method by which your hard drive can do a similar job, only with data, and in milliseconds and megabytes.

ATA hard drives (also generally known as IDE or Integrated Drive Electronics – the terms actually mean the same thing) have been the most common standard for hard drives manufactured since 1986. However, the ATA standard has been consistently developing over these years and there have been several changes to better the size and speed of the hard drives which it can support.

ATA Development Phases
All in all, the ATA standard has moved through seven recognised phases, (ATA-1, 2, 3, etc) and in 2001 stage 7 ATA hard drives came on the market (commonly called Ultra ATA-133). These could make data transfer rates of up to133 MB/sec (megabytes per second). ATA-7 is thought to be the last stage of development before Serial ATA took over. At this stage to make clear the distinction between ATA and the newer SATA standard, the older ATA standard was redefined and named Parallel ATA (or PATA). In other words ATA, PATA and IDE are all different names for the same thing. And, as youll probably hear of these at some time you may as well know that IDE, FASATA and ULTRA ATA are all different company names for their particular branding of the current ATA technology at the time.

Confused? Like I said at the beginning there is so much jargon in the computer world. It really doesnt help when there are several different hi-tech names that all refer to the same thing. It just goes to show how much competition (and money) there is amongst computer related companies to have their particular brand of the current technology accepted as the world standard. However, they all dipped out as plain old ATA became the accepted term.

SATA Arrives
Anyway, in the year 2000, hard drive technology came up with a new hard drive standard called Serial ATA, more commonly known as ‘SATA’. The SATA hard drives proved superior in several important areas and within a short period of time SATA had become the new standard.

For the more technical here are the differences between ATA (or PATA) and SATA. Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) is based on a 16 bit parallel interface and is normally used to control computer hard drives. However, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) is a single bit serial advancement of the Parallel ATA. The cable connecting an ATA hard drive uses a ribbon cable with 40 wires (looks a bit like a licorice strap) as opposed to a SATA cable which only has 7 wires. Because of this it is easy to tell a SATA hard drive from an ATA hard drive by the much smaller power and data connections used on the back of the two different hard drives.

When comparing PATA against SATA, SATA hard disk drives have several performance benefits which distinguish them from ATA hard drives. Notably SATA hard drives operate cooler and on higher bandwidths which equates to faster data transfer. The latest models of PATA hard drives (ATA-7) offer data transfer rates of 133 MB/second. The first SATA standard provided an immediate data transfer boost of up to 150 MB/second, and as of 2004 the new SATA II standard allows for transfer rates of 300 MB/second.

Lets sum all this up:

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  PATA and ATA mean the same. They both stand for “Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment. The P was added to make the difference clearer when SATA came along. ATA is still the more common term.
  

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  Late model ATA hard drives are still fulfilling most requirements. SATA hard drives are the next step up, ie – slightly better performance. And SATA II hard drives are the highest performing models. However, generally speaking unless you are running large, high demand programs you most likely will not notice any advantage.
  
  
  
• 
  
  When you hear ATA vs SATA you now know that the difference between the latest ATA hard drives and the newer SATA hard drives is a performance boost of about 5%. (Considerably more for SATA II hard drives but youll also need several other changes within your computer to take advantage of them).
  
  
  
• 
  
  When it comes to SATA vs IDE hard drives (or ide vs sata), we are in fact actually talking about SATA vs ATA as IDE is simply a company brand name that has stuck that means the same as ATA
  
  
  
• 
  
  ATA 100 and 133 hard drives (also known as ULTRA  – the latest of the ATA hard drives) are still more common in new computers than SATA because of their lower price.
  

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  Technology advancement never stops. If you are worried that if you purchase a new hard drive now youll miss out on something better tomorrow then you will never get one. The new hard drives on the market today were most likely developed 2 to 3 years ago – thats just the way it is.

When it comes to making your new hard drive purchase then in most cases an ATA 100 or 133 harddrive will be quite adequate. However, in a couple of years its likely that ATA technology will disappear and SATA will become the accepted standard. In my opinion purchasing a 7200 rpm SATA hard drive is the current entry level for a new hard drive, not necessarily for the performance but primarily for the compatibility with future systems and components. And, If you are a gammer or a video editor then the additional benefits of faster performance should see the extra money for a SATA II drive well spent.

Using hardware control software

CSM hardware control software provides remote hardware control functions for cluster nodes and devices from a single point of control. CSM allows you to control cluster nodes remotely through access to the cluster management server. From the management server, an administrator runs cluster management commands using the command line, Web-based System Manager graphical user interface (GUI), System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) panels, or the DCEM graphical user interface.

CSM supports hardware control for non-node devices, and provides power control and where applicable, remote console access for a wide range of devices such as hardware control points, external console servers, and remote supervisor adapters. The predefined dynamic device group AllDevices includes all defined devices.

CSM hardware control functions depend on the specific hardware, software, network, and configuration requirements described in this book. The requirements for remote power are separate and distinct from the requirements for remote console. clusters without the hardware, software, network, or configuration required to use CSM hardware control can still have CSM installed on some or all cluster nodes. However, in such clusters the hardware control commands may be inoperable or provide only limited function.

CSM for AIX 5L supports remote hardware control for pSeries, xSeries, BladeCenter, SP Nodes, p660 nodes, 325 and 326, and OpenPower 720 from an AIX management server. Hardware control commands can be run on the AIX management server to simultaneously control both AIX and Linux nodes in a mixed cluster. See the CSM for AIX 5L and Linux: Administration Guide for a complete description of CSM mixed clusters.

In CSM documentation “p660 nodes” refers to pSeries 660 nodes (which are not HMC-attached), and the M80, H80, 6H0/6H1, and 6M1 RS/6000 servers.

CSM for Linux supports remote hardware control for xSeries, pSeries, BladeCenter, and eServer 325 and 326 servers from a Linux management server.

The following list describes the CSM hardware control commands; see the man pages or the CSM for AIX 5L and Linux: Command and Technical Reference for detailed command usage information.

chbmcconsusr

Defines a remote console user name for node BMCs.

chhwdev

Changes a device definition in the CSM database.

chrconsolecfg

Removes, adds, or rewrites console entries in the Conserver configuration file.

chsnmp

Sets the SNMP agent configuration information for xSeries and BladeCenter servers.

cspadm

Administers the cspd daemons log file and debug flags.

cspcfgframe

Configures SP frame hardware control points for expansion I/O units.

cspcfgio

Displays the configuration information for expansion I/O units, IBM POWER3 SMP High Nodes (F/C 2054), and IBM 375 MHz POWER3 SMP High Nodes (F/C 2058).

cspcmds

Controls the state of SP Nodes, SP frames, and p660 nodes in the cluster.

cspmon

Monitors the state of SP Nodes, SP frames, p660 nodes, and expansion I/O units in the cluster.

definehwdev

Defines the devices in a CSM cluster.

getadapters

Collects information for LAN adapters.

hwdevgrp

Manages device group definitions in the CSM database.

lsbmcconsusr

Returns the remote console user names for node BMCs.

lshwdev

Lists the device definitions in the CSM database.

lshwinfo

Collects node information from one or more hardware control points.

lshwstat

Collects environmental and Vital Product Data (VPD) information from xSeries and BladeCenter servers. This command is not supported for CSM for Linux on pSeries.

lssnmp

Collects SNMP agent configuration information from xSeries and BladeCenter servers.

netboot

Initiates a network boot and install of an AIX node over the CSM cluster network.

rconsole

Opens a remote console for a node.

rconsolerefresh

Refreshes the Conserver daemon.

reventlog

Collects service processor log information for xSeries and BladeCenter servers.

rmhwdev

Removes device definitions from the CSM database.

rpower

Boots, resets, powers on and off, and queries nodes, devices and CECs.

systemid

Stores the user ID and password required for internal programs to access remote hardware.

Hardware control attributes

You must define the hardware-related attributes for nodes or non-node devices. In some cases default values are provided. If these defaults are acceptable, you do not need to provide the attribute values when you define the node. Hardware control attributes depend on the kind of hardware you plan to use.

For a list of the hardware control attributes that you define for a node, see Hardware control attributes.

For a list of the hardware control attributes that you define for a device, see Defining non-node devices for the cluster.

Hardware and network requirements

CSM for AIX 5L or Linux hardware control depends on the specific hardware and network requirements described in this book. The management server can be connected to cluster nodes and external networks using various configurations of IBM and non-IBM hardware and software that meet the CSM architecture requirements described in this book. For the specific cluster hardware models required to use CSM 1.4, see Planning for CSM for AIX nodes. See Hardware configuration for model-specific hardware control configuration requirements.

Virtual LANs (VLANs)

A VLAN (virtual Local Area Network) is a division of a local area network by software rather than by physical arrangement of cables. Dividing a LAN into subgroups can simplify and speed up communications within a workgroup. Switching a user from one VLAN to another using software is also more efficient than rewiring the hardware.

IBM suggests creating one or more VLANs for the CSM management server, managed devices, and hardware control points, and one or more separate VLAN for the CSM management server and cluster nodes. Although cluster hardware control points and nodes can be on the same VLAN, limiting access to the management VLAN reduces security exposure for IP traffic on the management VLAN and access to hardware control points.

The VLANs refer to VLANs as defined by IEEE standards – see http://standards.ieee.org/ for details. Figure 1 Figure 3 shows a network partitioned into three virtual LANs; management, cluster, and public VLANs, which are defined as follows:

management VLAN

Hardware control commands such as rpower and rconsole are run on the management server and communicate to nodes through the management VLAN. The management VLAN connects the management server to the cluster hardware through an Ethernet connection. For optimal security, the management VLAN must be restricted to hardware control points, remote console servers, the management server, and root users. Routing between the management VLAN and cluster or public VLANs could compromise security on the management VLAN. The management VLAN is also referred to as the service VLAN in CSM documentation.

Note:

The management VLAN is subject to the RSA restriction of 10/100 Mb/s.

cluster VLAN

The cluster VLAN connects nodes to each other and to the management server through an Ethernet connection. Installation and CSM administration tasks such as running dsh are done on the cluster VLAN. Host names and attribute values for nodes on the cluster VLAN are stored in the CSM database.

public VLAN

The public VLAN connects the cluster nodes and management server to the site network. Applications are accessed and run on cluster nodes over the public VLAN. The public VLAN can be connected to nodes through a second Ethernet adapter in each node, or by routing to each node through the Ethernet switch.

Hardware control overview and sample configurations

CSM communicates with hardware control points to request node power status, reboot, and power on and off functions. A hardware control point is the specific piece of hardware through which the management server controls node hardware. Hardware control points should be on the management virtual LAN (VLAN) and connected to the hardware that ultimately controls the power functions.

The supported hardware control points are:

• HMC for HMC-managed pSeries nodes
  
• Frame supervisor for SP Nodes
  
• CSP serial port for p660 nodes
  
• RSA for xSeries
  
• Management module for BladeCenter
  
• BMC for the eServer 325, 326, xSeries 336, and xSeries 346
  
• APC MasterSwitch for non-node and other devices that do not have another hardware control point such as an RSA and require the APC MasterSwitch.

For SP Nodes and p660 nodes, the connection is from a dedicated tty port on the management server to the frame supervisor or CSP serial port through a serial RS-232 line.

For details on defining tty ports for SP Nodes and p660 nodes, see the “Prepare the control workstation” section in Chapter 2 of the PSSP: Installation and Migration Guide, located at http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/pseries/library/sp_books/pssp.html.

Remote power software and configuration describes the remote power configurations for your cluster when you are using hardware control.

CSM communicates with console server hardware to open a console window for a node on the CSM management server. Console servers must be on the management VLAN, which connects the management server to the cluster hardware, and connected to node serial ports. (See Virtual LANs (VLANs).) This out of band network configuration allows a remote console to be opened from the management server even if the cluster VLAN is inaccessible. For example, if the cluster VLAN is offline, remote console can still access the target node to open a console window.

For HMC-attached pSeries, the HMC is the remote console server. For SP Nodes and p660 nodes, an independent device does not exist that can serve as a remote console server; console traffic is managed by the frame supervisor or p660 server firmware. xSeries servers can use any of the following console servers:

• MRV IR-8020, IR-8040, LX-4008S, LX-4016S, and LX-4032S
  
• Avocent CPS1600
  
• Cyclades AlterPath ACS48

Linux on pSeries clusters use the HMC for remote console; no additional console device is required or supported.

BladeCenter HS20-8678 blade servers that are part of an IBM 1350 Cluster require the 1350 Serial Port Module (SPM) option in order to support remote console. The SPM must be connected to an MRV IR-8020 or IR-8040 console server. HS20-8678 blade servers that are not part of a 1350 Cluster, or that do not have the SPM option, cannot support remote console. Consoles for these servers may be viewed, one at a time, by accessing the Management Modules web interface and selecting “Remote Control” from the “Blade Tasks” list.

BladeCenter HS20 (other than HS20-8678), HS40, and JS20 blade servers support remote console through the Ethernet Switch Module, using Serial Over LAN (SOL). Refer to your BladeCenter documentation for information on enabling and configuring SOL. To ensure maximum reliabilty, verify that the most up-to-date firmware is installed for the following components:

• BladeCenter HS20-8677 chassis: Management Module and Ethernet Switch Module
  
• HS20 (other than HS20-8678), HS40, and JS20 blade servers: Flash BIOS and Integrated Systems Management Processor (ISMP)

You can view the installed versions of these components in the Management Modules Web Interface by selecting “Firmware VPD” from the “Monitors” navigation panel. For information on the latest available versions, see the IBM Servers – Software and device drivers web page:

http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-4JTS2T.html

See your BladeCenter documentation for information on updating firmware levels.


xSeries 336 and 346 servers also support remote console via SOL. For these servers, remote consoles are opened through the on-board Baseboard Management Controller (BMC). See Remote console configuration. To ensure maximum reliability, ensure that the most up-to-date firmware is installed for the following components: 



Flash BIOS

Baseboard Management Controller


For information on the latest available versions, see the IBM Servers software and device drivers web page: http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-4JTS2T.html.


Remote console software describes the remote console software for your cluster when you are using hardware control while Remote console configuration describes the different kinds of remote console configurations.


Linux on pSeries clusters use the HMC for remote console; no additional console device is required or supported.

Attention!

The diagrams discussed in this book are provided for conceptual explanation only. They are not intended to be literal depictions of how to configure a specific cluster. See the  Cluster 1350 for Linux or 1600 for AIX documentation resources listed in Related information for specific cluster hardware configuration details. For specific RSA and ISMP connectivity requirements, see the hardware documentation resources listed in Related information.


For a list of the hardware control attributes used in the diagrams, see Hardware control attributesHardware control attributes.


The examples and diagrams in this chapter are as follows:



Conceptual diagram: xSeries, BladeCenter, and eServer 325

Linux node attributes example

Conceptual diagram: Linux on pSeries


Conceptual diagram: HMC-managed pSeries, SP, and p660 nodes


Figure 1 shows the hardware and networking configuration required for using CSM hardware control with IBM HMC-managed pSeries, SP, and p660 nodes. The HMC-attached pSeries server in the diagram is a single piece of hardware that has been partitioned by HMCs into 16 LPARs (nodes). The management server connects to the management and cluster VLANs through Ethernet adapters. Nodes on HMC-attached pSeries servers must be connected to the cluster VLAN and directly or indirectly to an HMC. Configuration for a public VLAN is flexible and can be defined by the system administrator. See Node hardware attributes for example node attribute definitions corresponding to Figure 1.


Each SP frame connects to the CSM management server through an RS-232 line cabled from the frame supervisor to a tty port on the management server. The frame supervisor requires a daisy-chain connection to the node supervisor for each server in the frame. Each p660 server connects to the CSM management server through its own RS-232 line cabled from its CSP serial port to a tty port on the management server. For multiple SP Nodes and p660 nodes, additional tty extender adapters must be connected to the management server.

Note:


For details on defining tty ports for SP Nodes and p660 nodes, see the “Prepare the control workstation” section in Chapter 2 of the PSSP: Installation and Migration Guide, located at http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/pseries/library/sp_books/pssp.html.
href=”/infocenter/clresctr/topic/com.ibm.cluster.pssp.doc/psspbooks.html”

CSM hardware control configuration for IBM HMC-attached pSeries, SP Nodes, and p660 nodes


Figure 1. CSM hardware control configuration for IBM HMC-attached pSeries, SP Nodes, and p660 nodes



AIX node attributes example


Figure 2 shows the relationship between CSM node attributes and the internal hardware names used in Figure 1. For remote power and remote console to work as expected for HMC-attached pSeries servers, this matching of node attribute names in the CSM database to the internal hardware values must be correct for all HMCs in the CSM cluster. Likewise, the tty port number on the management server and frame slot number must match the hardware control attribute values for all SP Nodes and p660 nodes in the CSM database.

CSM hardware control attribute values for AIX nodes


Figure 2. CSM hardware control attribute values for AIX nodes



Conceptual diagram: xSeries, BladeCenter, and eServer 325


Attention!

The diagrams discussed in this book are provided for conceptual explanation only. They are not intended to be literal depictions of how to configure a specific cluster. See the  Cluster 1350 resources listed in Related information for specific cluster hardware configuration details. For specific RSA and ISMP connectivity requirements, see the hardware documentation resources listed in Related information.

For a list of the hardware control attributes used in the diagrams, see Hardware control attributesHardware control attributes.


Figure 3 shows the hardware and networking configuration required for using CSM hardware control with xSeries, eServer 325, and BladeCenter servers running Linux.


The management server shown in the diagram connects to the management and cluster VLANs through Ethernet adapters. The console servers (mrv01, mrv02) connect to the management VLAN through Ethernet adapters, to the xSeries and eServer 325 servers, and to BladeCenter servers through the Cluster 1350 Serial Port Module option. BladeCenter HS20-8832 and JS20-8842 blade servers do not require an attached console server. They provide remote console independently using the Serial Over LAN feature.

The IBM Cluster 1350 Serial Port Module is an optional part that must be ordered separately to connect BladeCenter HS20-8678 blade servers to an MRV console server. This connection provides rconsole command function for HS20 BladeCenter servers. See the topic “Launching a remote console” in CSM for AIX 5L and Linux: Administration Guide for the part numbers and configuration required for this alternative to using a Web browser for HS20 BladeCenter remote console function.


JS20 BladeCenter servers support remote console function independently; they do not require an attached console server. JS20 servers use a serial over lan connection for remote console, which requires a connection to the eth1 Ethernet adapter. Thus, BladeCenter JS20 servers must connect to the management modules eth1 port. BladeCenter HS20 servers must connect to the management modules eth0 port


The management VLAN connects to the IBM Remote Supervisor Adapter (RSA) in select xSeries servers. The servers must be connected to the cluster VLAN through their first Ethernet adapters (eth0), and directly or indirectly to an RSA. An RSA connects to its node Internal Systems Management Processor (ISMP) port, and up to 24 node ISMP ports can be daisy-chained from the RSA ISMP port. See the RSA documentation listed in Related information for the number of nodes supported.

The management VLAN connects to non-node and other devices that do not have another hardware control point such as an RSA through the APC MasterSwitch (apc01) Ethernet port. Power cables connect the devices to the APC MasterSwitch. The management VLAN connects to blade servers through the BladeCenter chassis management module (mm01), and to eServer 325 through the baseboard management controller (BMC).


Applications usually run on the public VLAN, which connects to the servers through Ethernet ports. Configuration for a public VLAN is flexible and can be defined by the system administrator. See Node hardware attributes for example node attribute definitions corresponding to Figure 1.


CSM hardware control configuration for xSeries, BladeCenter, and eServer 325 Linux nodes


Figure 3. CSM hardware control configuration for xSeries, BladeCenter, and eServer 325 Linux nodes


Linux node attributes example


Figure 4 shows the relationship between the CSM node database attributes and the internal hardware names used in Figure 3. For remote power and remote console to work as expected, this matching of database attribute names to the internal hardware values must be correct for all management processors (ISMPs), remote supervisor adapters (RSAs), management modules, APCs, BMCs, and console servers in the CSM cluster.


CSM hardware control attribute values for Linux nodes


Figure 4. CSM hardware control attribute values for Linux nodes



Conceptual diagram: Linux on pSeries

Figure 5 shows the hardware and networking configuration required for using CSM hardware control with HMC-attached pSeries servers running Linux. The HMC-attached pSeries server in the diagram is a single piece of hardware that has been partitioned by HMCs into 16 LPARs (nodes). The management server connects to the management and cluster VLANs through Ethernet adapters. Nodes on HMC-attached pSeries servers must be connected to the cluster VLAN and directly or indirectly to an HMC. Configuration for a public VLAN is flexible and can be defined by the system administrator. See Node hardware attributes for example node attribute definitions.


CSM hardware control hardware configuration for Linux on pSeries


Figure 5. CSM hardware control hardware configuration for Linux on pSeries



Linux on pSeries node attributes example


Figure 6 is a detailed view of some nodes from Figure 5. The diagram shows the relationship between the CSM node database attributes and the internal hardware names used in Figure 3. For remote power and remote console to work as expected, this matching of database attribute names to the internal hardware values must be correct for all management processors (MPs), management processor adapters (MPAs), and console serial providers in the cluster.

CSM hardware control database attribute values for Linux nodes


Figure 6. CSM hardware control database attribute values for Linux nodes



Conceptual diagram: mixed cluster


Figure 7 shows the hardware and networking configuration required for using CSM hardware control in a mixed cluster with pSeries, SP Nodes, and p660 nodes running AIX; and xSeries, the eServer 325, and BladeCenter servers running Linux. The HMC-attached pSeries server has been partitioned by an HMC into 10 LPARs (nodes).


The management server shown in the diagram connects to the management and cluster VLANs through Ethernet adapters. The console servers (mrv01, mrv02) connect to the management VLAN through Ethernet adapters, to the xSeries servers through serial (COM) ports, and to BladeCenter HS20-8678 blade servers through the Cluster 1350 Serial Port Module option. BladeCenter HS20 (other than HS20-8678), blade servers do not require an attached console server. They provide remote console independently using the Serial Over LAN feature


The IBM Cluster 1350 Serial Port Module is an optional part that must be ordered separately to connect BladeCenter HS20-8678 blade servers to an MRV console server. This connection provides rconsole command function for BladeCenter servers. See CSM for AIX 5L and Linux: Administration GuideCSM for AIX 5L and Linux: Administration Guide for the configuration required for this alternative to using a Web browser for BladeCenter remote console function.

The management VLAN connects to the IBM Remote Supervisor Adapter (RSA) in select xSeries servers. The servers must be connected to the cluster VLAN through their first Ethernet adapters (eth0), and directly or indirectly to an RSA. An RSA connects to its node internal service management processor (ISMP) port, and up to nine node ISMP ports can be daisy-chained from the RSA ISMP port. See the RSA documentation listed in Related information for the number of nodes supported.


The management VLAN connects to non-node and other devices that do not have another hardware control point such as an RSA through the APC MasterSwitch (apc01) Ethernet port. Power outlets and cables connect the devices to the APC MasterSwitch. The management VLAN connects to the BladeCenter blade servers through the management module (mm01) on the BladeCenter chassis, and to the eServer 325 through the BMC.


Applications usually run on the cluster VLAN, which connects to the servers through Ethernet ports. Configuration for a public VLAN is flexible and can be defined by the system administrator. See Node hardware attributes for example node attribute definitions corresponding to Figure 1.

CSM hardware configuration for pSeries, SP Nodes, p660 nodes, xSeries, eServer 325, and BladeCenter


Figure 7. CSM hardware control configuration for pSeries, SP Nodes, p660 nodes, xSeries, eServer 325, and BladeCenter



Mixed cluster node attributes example


Figure 8 and Figure 9 show the relationship between the CSM node database attributes and the internal hardware names used in Figure 3. For remote power and remote console to work as expected, this matching of database attribute names to the internal hardware values must be correct for all HMCs, ISMPs, RSAs, APCs, BMCs, management modules, and console servers in the cluster.


CSM hardware control attribute values for AIX and Linux nodes

Figure 8. CSM hardware control attribute values for AIX and Linux nodes



CSM hardware control attribute values for AIX and Linux nodes (continued)


Figure 9. continued, CSM hardware control attribute values for AIX and Linux nodes


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Light a candle and bake a cake, then pop down to the shop to pick up a hilarious card – your CPU has just turned 30! While its best years arent behind it quite yet, it could do with cheering up. 
In 1978, Intel released its first 16-bit microprocessor, the 8086. Although it was the cheaper, cut down 8-bit version – the 8088 – that made it into the IBM PC and quite literally changed the world as we know it, todays Core 2 and Phenom chips are designed to run code based on whats still called the x86 instruction set. In fact, they still share some important common core characteristics with the venerable 8086. 
Quite why it should have been the x86 family is a different story for another time. Intels chips were far from the most advanced, cleverest or cheapest available at the end of the 1970s, and had some fairly serious design bugs, which had to be replaced by IBM free of charge some years later. In the annals of our times, though, that will be deemed irrelevant: this was the general purpose processor that drove the desktop revolution. 
Curiously, one of its competitors – the Zilog Z80 which powered Sinclairs home computer of (almost) the same name – is actually still manufactured and used today. The 8086, however, has been consigned to history. 
Why do we bring these curious factoids up? Because later this month also sees the launch of Intels seventh generation of x86 CPUs, the Core i7 (Nehalem). Intel is touting it as the biggest architectural change in the companys history; and for once were actually prepared to believe it. 
Core i7: Your essential guide to Intels new processor 
The success of x86 is, of course, backwards compatibility. Somewhere in the Core i7s infinitely more complex design are the same 116 instructions that the 8086 could execute, albeit substantially enhanced with later additions, and the same is true of the AMD Phenom. These are the basic arithmetic and logic commands – like ADD, MUL, OR and XOR – along with a few more specific instructions for which bit of data belongs in which block of memory or system register. 
In reality, of course, the things couldnt be more different today if they tried. The 8086 ran at 4MHz, had a total transistor count of less than 30,000 and was packaged in a 40-pin dual in-line chip: physically, it was one of those long black things with the legs sticking out from the sides like an evil metal spider. The Core i7, by contrast, is a two-, four- or eight-core beast, with up to 1.4 billion transistors in its largest variety. 
At launch, it will be clocked at well over the 3GHz mark. It has 1567 pin outs, and comes in the flat FCLGA (flip chip land grid array) packaging that will be familiar from the Core 2 line. That means that balls of solder meet the circuit board head on, and end in simple pads which are then laid on to of pins in the motherboard socket. 

Weve come a long way, clearly. The CPUs of the seventies look like single-celled organisms in primordial processor sludge by comparison to the staggering complexity of todays chips. It takes teams of hundreds of people several years to design a new CPU, and its unlikely that any individual could completely navigate the finished silicon topography by hand. 
Inside the shell 
We can, however, do our bit to improve general understanding by looking at certain core principles of CPU design. Technically speaking, a CPU is any processor that can execute programmable code, but for the purposes of our sanity, well stick to a discussion of modern day x86 chips here. 

Though the layout of todays chips bear as much resemblance to the original 8086s as a dog does to its jellyfish ancestors, nevertheless the core operational procedure follows the same cycle. The CPUs task is broken into four stages: fetch, decode, execute and write back. 
Instructions are called from a memory store to the registers. These are then interpreted, processed and a result is written back. This result can be output to, say, a graphics card or hard drive, or called back into the CPU for processing again. However intricate a processor is, these basic four steps are a good way to understand how they work and why they are designed the way they are. 
That cycle can be sped up, of course, by increasing the clockspeed of the CPU and the number of cycles it performs per second. Intel learnt the hard way that the key to building a really fast processor isnt just about raw gigahertz. If a single cycle requires a certain amount of electricity to be performed, more cycles per second means increasing the power consumed and – importantly – the heat produced. 
The theoretically scalable netburst architecture of the Pentium 4 came a cropper when it hit an unexpected top speed barrier beyond which trying to cool the chip was impracticable for most. Which tells us that processor designers may be very clever, but they cant foresee everything. 

In the same way that graphics technology has moved to unified shading in order to make more efficient use of the processing power available, todays design goals are to keep all the various parts of the CPU working on useful information. Note the inclusion of the word useful there. 
Fetch, decode, etc. 
The simplest form of CPU takes one piece of data, works out what to do with it, does it and then outputs the result. The inherent problem is that it can only work on one piece of data at a time, and while thats being passed through to the part of the execution engine thats designed to perform the requested operation, the rest of the CPU is sitting idle. 
The solution to this is to introduce some form of parallelism to the pipeline. To start with, this might have been simply to have the fetch part of the CPU grabbing a new piece of data while the decode bit is working on another. Thats been developed somewhat, mind you, and the last iteration of Pentium 4 had a whopping 31 stages to its pipeline. 
The problem with long pipelines, however, is that they arent always terribly efficient because theyre not always full of useful information. On its journey through the pipeline, a piece of data may return an error or will become reliant on other information being drawn from the registers – if it isnt there, the result will have to be written out while the new piece of data is fetched and the rest of the pipeline will stand idle. 
The key workaround for this in todays CPUs is to build logical areas that are dedicated to branch prediction – in other words, guessing what bits of data are going to be needed next and getting them ready for insertion into the pipe. Of course, branch predictors arent infallible, and if the wrong information is called then youre back to having large amounts of wasted die area. A large part of processor design is finding a happy balance between length of pipeline and CPU cycles lost to such stalling. 

Part of Core i7s secret to success, for example, is using relatively medium- length pipelines, and including a Second- Level Branch Target Buffer: an extra bit of memory to cache information and Below Two dual-core dies mounted on a PCB. The lid you see is the Penryns heatsink allow the branch to double back on itself if a problem arises. 
There are other ways to speed up data throughput too. Your CPUs inbox is always overflowing with work to be done, but it will rifle through the pages to take the best job next, not necessarily the first one it was given. The order in which instructions are executed is decided by a scheduler, which independently assesses the most efficient way to do them. 

That might mean looking ahead in the currently running thread and pulling out commands that arent dependent on the current operation – known as out of order processing – or, in the case of a processor core capable of working on more than one thread at once, starting to work through an entirely different instruction loop that just happens not to need the same parts of the pipeline as the currently running one. To speed things up further, Core i7 can execute up to four instructions per cycle. 
Incidentally, its also interesting to note that a CPUs instruction set – the programming language into which all commands are eventually decoded and compiled – isnt completely hard-wired into the design. Theres a software layer that handles most of the interpretation known as the microcode – a form of non-upgradable firmware stored in an on-board ROM, which works as a mini- operating system. 
Its a useful tool for chip builders: because the microcode isnt finalised until the chip goes into production – and can be rewritten for a new manufacturing run – any problems or improvements that are discovered after the silicon has been laid out can be changed in the software stack. This is, of course, easier than going back to the drawing board and laying out another million or two transistors. 
Dedicated bits 
The execution engine is also broken down further into dedicated areas for tasks like integer operations, float point calculation and SSE instructions. The latter is an acronym of an acronym – the Streaming SIMD Engine where SIMD stands for Single Instruction Multiple Data. 
Its an on-board vector processor capable of performing the same transformation on several pieces of information at once. Its included on Intel and AMD chips for speeding up things like video processing, where the same command must be performed on, say, all the pixels on a screen simultaneously. Theres also, of course, the one important part of a CPU that we havent talked about yet: the memory. 
Closest to the actual instruction pipeline are the registers: there are 32 of these on a 64-bit chip, and each can either store a general piece of information or has a specific task or overlapping tasks. In order to help out those prefetch engines we mentioned earlier, though, there are two levels of fast cache memory to store the data which might be needed for the current process, or that has been written out but may be called again. 
The cache memory is much faster than system memory and prevents the whole system bottlenecking while the RAM is slowly scanned for instructions and data. For multi-core chips, where two or more processors are packaged onto the same die, theres often a third cache area that is structured to allow the different cores to swap information quickly. 

AMD has long led the way in memory access speed: since the introduction of the Athlon 64, its CPUs have been able to talk directly to the memory via a fast proprietary bus. Meanwhile, Intel chips have had to share access to the memory on the same general system bus – the FSB – as all other information travels. 
With Core i7, however, Intel has finally introduced a technology it calls QuickPath Interconnect, or QPI. Broadly analogous to Hypertransport, it allows the CPU to talk directly to components like memory without going via the northbridge on the motherboard, which otherwise acts rather like the router in your home network as a central hub for data transportation and can get quite congested. This should prevent Core i7 bottlenecking despite its enormous demand for incoming information. 
Power mad 
There have been many other improvements to CPUs since the humble 8086. One, for example, is that power management systems are now built onto the die. These serve several purposes – shutting the chip down to protect it from damage when it gets too hot, say, or turning off areas that arent being used to conserve electricity. 
The latter is particularly useful for extending the battery life on notebooks, but in these times of rising energy costs is also handy for datacentres, where a 50W saving per chip over a thousand servers can add up to a serious amount of money per year. Especially when it means you can turn the air-conditioning down a notch or two as well. 
Perhaps the biggest ongoing technological advances are in how these complex designs actually get turned into transistors on a silicon die. 
Most of us will be familiar with the mind-roastingly tiny figures that are quoted by CPU manufacturers for their manufacturing processes – 45nm, 60nm and so on. These refer to the basic size of components on a chip, and are unimaginably small. Reducing them further has several advantages: performance-wise, the same chip on a smaller process can run cooler and faster; but more importantly – because they take up less physical space – more can be squeezed onto a single silicon wafer. So theyre cheaper too. 
The basic manufacturing process hasnt changed much in 30 years: take a large disc of purified silicon, and use a photolithographic process to build layers of extra materials onto it which connect together to create data pathways and logic gates. The materials and tools, however, are constantly being refined to increase the accuracy needed to achieve these tiny dimensions, and reduce the effects of leakage. Put simply, this is when electrons begin hopping out over the boundaries between interconnects that theyre not supposed to be able to mount, and becomes more of a problem the smaller the manufacturing process becomes. 

At the moment, Intel leads the way with its 45nm process, which is made possible thanks to a hafnium-derived material used for the transistor gates. Intel states that the next generation of Core i7s will be produced on an even smaller 32nm process. 
Moore to come 
CPU design and manufacture isnt showing any signs of slowing. The infamous Moores Law – a prediction by Intel founder Gordon Moore that the number of transistors that can be placed on a circuit will double every two years – may not be based on any scientific assessment of the manufacturing capabilities of the future, but it has remained peculiarly true for the last forty-three years. 
Indeed, it could be that were on the cusp of a far bigger architectural change than even Core i7 augers. AMD and Intel are keen to move more functions onto the CPU, starting with a basic graphics processor, with the end goal of creating simple, power efficient system-on-a-chip that will, essentially, put a desktop PC on your fingernail. 
NVIDIA and the ex-ATI part of AMD, meanwhile, seem to recognise that the next big jump in real-time graphics engines is a little further off than previously supposed, and their hugely parallel GPUs are capable of performing important tasks like medical imaging and financial reporting better than an entire farm of CPU servers. 
Perhaps more likely to yield results faster, though, are the hardware hooks for virtualisation which are being built into CPU cores, allowing several operating systems to run at once without a performance penalty. Many speculate that cloud computing – starting an instanced desktop from a web-based grid server is the way forward, turning all our computing into one big Gmail-type application. 
Quite where these developments – and the hundreds of others that are going on simultaneously – will lead, though, is anyones guess. But before gazing too far into the future, bear this in mind: theres another, even bigger and more significant birthday than the 8086 this year. In September 1958, Texas Instruments welcomed the very first microprocessor – just a single transistor on a germanium strip – off its production line and set the ball rolling for the information age. 
Did anyone, fifty years ago, predict World of Warcraft or even Microsoft Word? Happy birthday, computers! 

At first glance, Intels technical documentation for the new P45 / G45 Express series chipsets, youll note looks alarmingly similar to the previous generation P35 / G35 Express series that this new lineup of chipsets is meant to replace. As the P35 series was a rather successful architecture, this immediately struck us on a positive first note about the P45. The more we read on, the more we realized that the Intel P45 chipset shares many of the same features and attributes as Intel’s high-end X38 / X48 chipsets, just at a much lower price point.

Initial reports about the Intel P45 have shown the chipset to be strong, as early end-user reports have shown that first generation motherboards are already hitting front side bus speeds well over 500 MHz (2,000 MHz FSB) with preliminary BIOS releases. As the P45 chipset uses a more modern 65nm manufacturing technology (compared to 90nm of previous generations), the strong overclockability of the chipset wasn’t too unexpected. Die shrinks typically do help overclockability, along with lowered power consumption and heat production levels.

As the Intel P35 and P45 are so similar, motherboard manufacturers have been quick to adopt this new product and integrate it into their existing board designs. However, there are some companies, like Asus, who take the P45 to another level that we weren’t expecting this early on in the chipsets lifecycle.

Of course, this all leads up to what we’re interested in here today, Asus’s new high-end motherboard based on the P45 chipset. Typically, motherboards in the Asus “Republic of Gamers” (RoG) family come out a few months after initial products, as it gives them a chance to get a feel for the chipset and really refine the motherboards design. Apparently that wasn’t needed for the P45 though. Dubbed the Maximus II Formula, this new P45 motherboard takes off where Asus’s P35 gaming platforms, the Blitz-series, left off. So Join us, will you, on a look at the Asus Maximus II Formula Intel P45 motherboard.

Asus Maximus II Formula P45 Motherboard Shipping Box

The P45 Express (commonly shortened in name to “P45″) will be Intel’s recommended chipset for most high-end PC’s throughout 2008 and likely throughout a good chunk of 2009. Intel still claims that the newly released X48 chipset is the best option for gamers and performance users, but a close look through the spec sheet reveals almost no difference between these two products. While the X48 certainly has the allure of a top of the line product (along with “official” support for 1600 MHz front side bus speeds), the P45 delivers the same feature set in 95% of the core areas which gamers, enthusiasts, overclockers, whomever, actually use.

Intel P45 Chipset Block Diagram (Source : Intel)

The P45 chipset supports Socket-775 Intel Core 2 Duo and Quad processors and has support for both 65nm and 45nm processors from the get-go. The chipset supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory modules, and it is up to the motherboard manufacturer as to which memory standard to use on their particular P45 board designs. For this board in particular, Asus opted to go for the more cost-effective DDR2 route, although DDR3-based Intel P45 boards are out there for those who want to go with faster (but more expensive) DDR3 memory modules. DDR3 modules are dropping in price significantly lately, but DDR2 is still a much more cost effective route to go.

This is one of the last high-end chipset releases from Intel which will have the systems memory controller still in the Northbridge. Intel will be moving to an on-die DDR3 memory controller for their next generation processor releases in 2009.  This particular motherboard supports DDR2 clock speeds up to 1200 MHz, whereas the original chipset specifications only officially support DDR2 clock speeds up to 800 MHz. If you choose to use faster DDR2 memory in a dual-channel configuration, you can hit memory bandwidth levels of over 19 GB/s on paper. Not too shabby. It is also worth mentioning that Intel P45’s memory controller, when used with DDR2 memory, can address up to 16 GB of memory. So in short, you now have the ability to run server-grade memory capacities on a consumer-level, enthusiast-class motherboard. 16 GB of DDR2-800 memory (4 x 4 GB) can be had for a little over $1,000 now, whereas 8 GB of DDR2-800 memory (4 x 2 GB) can be had for as low as $200.

Most, if not all, P45 motherboards which hit the market will come equipped with two full PCI Express 2.0 x16 sized slots. These slots can support Crossfire multi-GPU operation (or the installation of two independent graphics cards). Unfortunately, the P45 still does not support full PCI Express x16 speeds when multiple cards are installed, splitting the PCI Express x16 lanes into an 8×8 configuration. However, if you are using two PCI Express 2.0 cards in this motherboard, even when connected at x8 speeds, you will be receiving the same bandwidth as a PCI Express x16 (1.0) slot. In reality, this should not be seen as a major limitation, as we have not seen PCI Express x8 mutli-GPU configurations limit gaming performance to any significant degree in a Crossfire configuration.

The Intel P45 chipset also brings along Intel’s new ICH10/ICH10R Southbridges, which are more or less revised ICH9 series Southbridges with no major new features. The ICH10 will bring support for up to 6 SATA-II/300 devices (with RAID support for the ICH10R variant), along with a dozen USB 2.0 ports, six PCI Express x1 connectors, 5.1 Azalia/HD Audio, and Gigabit Ethernet support.  ICH9 has been an excellent performing SATA host chip with very solid peripheral support. We are, somewhat confused, that Intel decided on moving the naming up to ICH10 when more or less it’s a small set of tweaks on ICH9. In the past, we typically see larger feature changes between Southbridge variants.

Intel connects their P45 Northbridge to their ICH10/ICH10R Southbridges via a custom 2 GB/s pipe between the two chips, which doesn’t quite seem to be enough if you’re really pushing the system hard, considering the bandwidth requirements a large array of SATA disks or multiple PCI Express slots can use. However, we’ll let our benchmarks be the judge if this is something that users should be concerned about.

There are only a select few events in the PC hardware world that get hardcore enthusiasts truly excited. For example, when popular trade shows like Computex, IDF, and CES take place, there is a fair amount of buzz.  Also, anytime the major players in graphics release next-generation GPUs, things definitely heat up; or likewise when a hot new game hits.  Finally, when either of the processor big guns, Intel or AMD unleash new CPU micro-architectures on the world, you can almost bet on the community to come alive with enthusiasm. Were sure weve missed a few other momentous occasions as well, but you get the gist. It takes something new and exciting to get a PC Enthusiasts pulse racing.

Thankfully, today is one of those times. Although Intel wont be officially launching their Core i7 processors, formerly codenamed Nehalem, and the X58 Express chipset until sometime later in the month, weve had them in house for a while now and can finally show you all the goods. Weve tested every Core i7 speed grade that will be available at launch, along with at trio of X58 Express based motherboards. Weve even thrown in some high-resolution multi-GPU SLI and CrossFireX testing for good measure as well.

Theres a lot to cover, so well keep the introduction short and dive right in. Below are some Core i7 features and specifications to whet your appetite–the main course is available on the pages ahead.  Also, our video spotlight of all this new Intel technology can be found here.
 

 
Intel Core i7 Processor and Corsair Triple-Channel DDR3 RAM
On The DX58SO Smackover Motherboard

You know their was a time when no one gave a crap what a PC looked like they were that big obnoxious white box that sat under our desk. But times have definitely changed, just like you can get a regular sink or choose from Delta faucets when redecorating a house, when it comes time to get a new PC asthetics are part of the decision in a major way.

Gizmodo reviewed their 2.16GHz, 2GB DDR, 250GB, Internal blu-ray packed Studio PC and found it’s 949$ pretty acceptable but not quite amazing. To sum up the review, check the source for the full review and more pictures, they found it really nice looking and only slightly heavier than a wii. But they found it’s pretty translucent color cover a little overrated and say it’d be better to just loose it. The most praise seems to come from the wireless laser mouse and it’s nice keyboard. They did also go into explaining the reason they dont find it “overpriced” like some others mainly because most of the parts inside have to be constructed from laptop parts to keep it so small. In the end what it comes down to is a great $1000 PC if you forget the fact that it’s only got integrated graphics.

Source and Full Review: Gizmodo

Well some industry insiders are having some interesting thoughts considering Intel might be courting Microsoft for the Next Xbox360. Microsoft is already developing the next xbox in fact they have been for a very long time kind of right after the xbox360 was released. We’ve known for a while already that Microsoft Research has been toiling away at the next CPU for the next xbox project. But the question has been what will they do for the GPU.

They’ve worked with NVIDIA and ATI… but theirs another player in the market Intel… and their apparently very anxious to push usage of their Larrabee GPU into the market in as wide a deployment as possible. What it basically comes down to is the more consoles and pc’s that have a chip the more developers will specifically target that platform and be able to fully take advantage of it best. By pushing it out to millions of PC’s and tens of millions of every “xbox720” they would basically push the developers hands to cater to the Larabee

Intel REALLY wants this done so much that the rumors go as far to say that Intel is willing to sign over the rights so Microsoft can have the GPU made by their own manufacturer which is the reason they went with ATI this generation. On top of that the rumor also goes as far as saying they will do the leg work and calculations on the thermal design for the next box so that we don’t have have another over heading issue as the first 360’s had.

Like watching picture frames in a mirror theirs a reflection of the deal over at Sony with Intel trying to hedge its bets, but I can almost guarantee if it comes to Microsoft choosing Larabee it will most likely be a modified expanded Larrabee for the 360 and a definite exclusive deal to block Sony. For Intel it’s basically get the console deal or bust, with Nvidia and ATI being such heavy players in the console market and games going to console before PC they are the targeted platforms and Intel gets left out in the dust. If Intel can land the Xbox/PS deal they would guarantee a decent update and developer uptake on Larrabee and set the way for Larrabee 2

Source: TheInquirer