The Small Business Server Advantage Entry-level server platforms featuring the Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1200 Product Family are ideal for value-conscious companies looking for their first server or a robust and affordable alternative to a desktop system used as a server. Built with advanced security features, these platforms are designed to give your customers 24/7 dependability and improve their business productivity with industry-leading performance. They are easy to set up and manage, and are ideal for use in secure data storage, file sharing, print and Web services, and collaborative applications. Learn the advantages and confidently recommend the right platforms for your business customers today.

When your small business customers step up to a Real Server featuring reliable Intel® Server Products, they get brilliant platform capabilities that a desktop-as-a-platform just can’t match. In much the same way, helping your mid-size enterprise customers take advantage of the latest Intel® Server platform innovations can generate great ROI and a competitive business advantage. Learn the advantages and confidently recommend the right platforms for your business customers today. Welcome to the Intel® Real Server Hunt. Your small business customers need a server solution that can help keep their business productive all day, every day. Intel® Rapid Storage Technology, Intel® Accelerated Encryption Technology (AES -NI), Intel® Active Management Technology ECC Memory, and Intel® Server Validation provide the responsiveness, reliability, and protection critical to your business customers’ success.

• Increased performance over previous-generation servers and desktop systems
• Performance and energy savings on-demand with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0
• Improved application performance with Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology

Your SMB customers know the system performance and data security are important for their IT operations, but may assume that a real server is beyond their budget. They might be settling for a desktop-based system, and don’t realize that benefits and costs are comparable to desktop systems. What differentiates even an entry-level server from a desktop are features designed to protect data, increase reliability, and improve system performance in a demanding business environment.

Show your customers the security, reliability and performance benefits of an Intel Xeon processor E3 family-based server are now within their reach. A true business-class server provides business-class dependability. Intel Xeon processor E3 family-based servers offer a variety of advanced security features to help protect your customers’ data and keep their server up and running 24/7, minimizing costly interruptions and potential for catastrophic data loss. Based on next-generation 32nm Intel microarchitecture, the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family is designed with innovative features. The product family adapts performance to software and business needs, helps energy consumption for optimum performance and efficiency, and enables hardware-based virtualization capabilities. Servers featuring the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family are ideal for small businesses upgrading to a first server, companies requiring a dedicated server for a workgroup, or education departments that need a server to support multiple clients. Intel’s latest generation of server processors provide a foundation for a fully adaptable IT environment at an entry-level price point. Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 based platforms are validated and tested to support server-class operating systems and applications. Rack-mount or pedestal designs offer flexible deployment options for a variety of business needs. In larger SMB and small-enterprise deployments, the Intel Xeon Processor E3 family provides an impressive leap in energy-efficient performance, automatically regulating power consumption and intelligently adjusting server performance according to business needs. Enabled by Intel® Intelligent Power Technology, these processors have the ability to dynamically shift into the lowest available power state while Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 intelligently adjusts performance according to usage needs. Intelligent new Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 processors give your customers enhanced performance and energy-efficiency. Built on Intel’s latest 32nm manufacturing technology, they have a large on-die cache allowing them to incorporate brilliant features like automatic regulation of power consumption. As an added advantage, they can automatically adjust server performance according to your customers’ SMB application needs. Your customers’ data centers are being pushed to their limits. The latest Intel Xeon E3-1200 processors provide a foundation for IT management to refresh existing or design new data centers to achieve greater performance while using less energy and space, while dramatically reducing operating costs.

In addition to advances in these next-generation multi-core servers, the drive to 10 Gigabit Ethernet comes from other information technologies including virtualized environments, advances in storage architectures, server clustering, and consolidation, new forms of information delivery using the Internet, and the next wave of digital and social media content. Associated with these technological advances is the evolution in networking itself that is making 10 Gigabit Ethernet affordable across the network from the core to the edge. Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-d) offers expandable storage and flexible I/O configurations that enables fast network and storage communications in a virtualized environment and delivers near-native I/O performance with validated improved security and reliability. This multi-generational is a roadmap of increasingly powerful enhancements optimized for virtualization with Intel Processors, Chipsets and I/O devices. This complementary technology to virtualization software products enhances today’s virtualization solutions while laying the foundation for future platform virtualization and strategic growth for your SMB customers.

Intel® VT-d provides hardware-assist to virtualization software—effectively reducing its size and complexity while enabling lower cost, more efficient, more secure, and more powerful virtualization solutions. Processor technologies like Intel® VT-x and Intel® VT-I offer features like Intel® VT FlexMigration and Intel® VT FlexPriority to improve the fundamental flexibility and robustness of virtualized environments for SMB. Intel® Ethernet products will continue to lead the industry in technologies and standards that will continue to enable the growth of server virtualization.

For outstanding performance and reliability in SMB servers and storage applications, recommend Intel® SATA Solid-State Drives (SSDs). A New Level of Storage Reliability Solid-state storage technology typically provides faster system performance than traditional magnetic media drives (aka hard disk drives or HDDs). In addition, there are no moving parts in SSDs and therefore the risk of mechanical failure is near zero. Solid-state drives also provide improved overall system responsiveness thanks to reduced latency while consuming much less power than a traditional hard disk drive. This translates into a cooler, quieter platform.

Intel® High-performance SATA Solid-State Drives (SSDs) are designed to deliver outstanding performance and reliability. With no moving parts, Intel SSDs offer a quiet storage solution that responds quickly and uses less power. Compared to traditional hard disk drives, Intel SSDs are significantly more responsive, much more reliable, have lower power consumption and are completely quiet. Intel SSDs are designed and validated specifically for server applications using Intel's deep knowledge and understanding of server design. Details include:

• Use of high-performance Open NAND Flash Interface (ONFI) working group spec flash chips
• Parallel 10-channel architecture for high sustained read/write bandwidth
• Extremely high random access speeds (I/O operations per second or IOPs) that are tuned for typical PC applications and modern operating systems

Highly efficient internal SSD controller functions, including Intel's unique wear-leveling algorithm¹ and low write amplification factor,² enhance the SSD reliability. Intel offers high-performance solid-state drives in industry-standard form factors for servers and all types of PCs (desktops, nettops, notebooks, netbooks).

The Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 processor family features RAID support for Linux operating systems. Intel® RAID Controllers provide simple, high-performance data protection for Intel® Server Boards and Intel® Server Systems based on the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family. One source for storage and server building blocks. Intel provides a broad selection of RAID and server products with seamless documentation, unified training, and exceptional service and support. Ease of deployment. Intel RAID solutions are thoroughly tested across the Intel server product line and popular third-party components. World-class performance and features. Leading technology such as SAS 2.0, PCI Express* 2.0, and advanced data protection algorithms deliver exceptional performance and additional benefits.

Quality Server and Workstation Memory The Crucial is synonymous with quality and uptime. Crucial Server Memory’s comprehensive product line delivers compatible, certified modules to meet the majority of today's server needs, for organizations large and small. Your customers can rest assured knowing that every server and workstation memory module is of the highest quality and backed by world-class service. Every single component that goes into Crucial modules, as well as the modules themselves, are tested 100% to stringent standards for quality and reliability, and your customers have the support options they need to keep their business running smoothly.

Crucial server memory can reduce energy consumption by running at lower voltages and by running cooler. The Crucial energy-efficient server product line features a full line of DDR3L, 1.35v server and workstation memory, which are specifically designed to lower server power consumption in the data center. New servers based on the Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1200 product family using Crucial server products achieve up to 40% reduction in memory sub-system power consumption, enable lower overall cooling costs, have no performance compromises, and are guaranteed compatible, tested, and validated with Intel's next-generation server platforms.

AMOUNT OF RAM	NUMBER OF HTTP REQUESTS/SECOND	PERFORMANCE INCREASE OVER 512MB CONFIGURATION	PERFORMANCE INCREASE OVER 2GB CONFIGURATION
512MB	57.627
2GB	99.850	72.27%
4GB	519.709	801.86%	420.49%

AMOUNT OF RAM	NUMBER OF HTTP REQUESTS/SECOND	PERFORMANCE INCREASE OVER 512MB CONFIGURATION	PERFORMANCE INCREASE OVER 2GB CONFIGURATION
512MB	7.422
2GB	13.104	76.57%
4GB	68.374	821.29%	415.06%

Servers based on the Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1200 Product Family deliver outstanding performance and power efficiency for business at an affordable price. They are ideal for business environments where cost is a key consideration, such as small businesses (<100 employees) and/or when basic business applications (e-mail, network, file and print) will be the primary focus and use.

When your SMB customer’s server needs to combine energy efficiency with cost consciousness, recommend the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family. It’s an excellent choice to handle Application Server, Business Intelligence, Database, Digital Content Creation, and e-Commerce tasks. As the world’s most popular server platform, servers featuring the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 Product Family support the broadest range of business needs.

Offering intelligent performance, the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family combines exceptional value and capability in a standard server platform. The Intel Xeon processor E3-1200 product family is a smart investment to protect and power small businesses today—and in the future.

• Performance: A significant improvement, over previous generation up to 25% or 2.6x times better than 4 year old desktop¹
• Memory and I/O: 20 PCIe 2.0 lanes & 4 controllers (vs 16 lanes & 3 controllers on desktop); Direct Cache Access (DCA) improves network I/O speed
• Reliability: Error Correcting Code (ECC) memory improves data integrity
• Server validation: Validated with server-class operating systems, peripherals and adapters
• Storage: RAID support for Linux* operating systems

Written by John Martinez; originally published on TechInsight

There are millions of small businesses in the world, many of them with a technology backbone buried in the dark ages. It’s time to upgrade those boxes but how do you show your customer that buying a new server is a wise investment? For years, desktop systems were the focus and as employee machines were upgraded, the old machines were relegated to the back room storage closet. As operating systems improved and machines networked, oftentimes the best of the discarded computers, more out of convenience than anything else, was resurrected as the network server and left to run 24/7 so everyone in the office could use it as a centralized storage and retrieval space.

It’s time to upgrade those boxes but how do you show your customer that buying a new server is a wise investment? The key is scalability. Start with the processor. Intel’s recently launched Intel® Xeon® 3400 series processors are based off the same Nehalem architecture found in Xeon 5500-series processors introduced earlier this year. The Intel Xeon 3400 processors are native quad-core designs, with five of them featuring Hyper-Threading, Intel’s simultaneous multi-threading implementation that allows CPUs to address as many as eight threads at a time, yielding performance gains of up to 30% in certain applications.

One of the Intel Xeon 3400’s most significant selling points is Turbo Boost. A power control unit inside the Intel Xeon 3400 keeps tabs on the processor’s current, temperature, and wattage. When a core goes idle, the power control unit can shut it down completely, dropping power consumption to near-zero. The more cores idling, the larger the gap there is between the maximum thermal design power (95W) and actual power use. The processor takes advantage of the savings from idle cores to increase the clock rates of the cores in play.

Entry level servers are easier to sell with the introduction of the Intel Xeon 3400. Click on the image above to watch the video to learn why.

Turbo Boost configurations increase in speed as you work your way up the product stack. For example the Xeon X3470, runs at 2.93 GHz by default. With all four cores active, Turbo Boost will add an additional 266 MHz as long as the processor doesn’t crest any of the PCU’s hard-wired limits. With two cores active, the X3470 clocks up to 533 MHz faster. And in single-threaded environments, the top model accelerates to 3.6 GHz.

The Xeon 3400s support ECC memory, a specification super important in the server world. Non-parity memory can’t detect errors, parity memory can detect errors but not fix them, while ECC memory can both detect and fix the error. That means critical customer data has a redundancy check that helps keeps it accurate.

A system needs a quality motherboard like the Intel S3420GPLX. The board features the Intel 3420 chipset so it has plenty of I/O options - six expansion slots, twin Gigabit Ethernet controllers, six SATA 3 Gb/s ports, integrated video and Rapid Storage Technology.

SMB customers who gravitate toward a single-processor server probably won’t use racks. A tower is a better bet and a good chassis choice is the Intel SC5650UP. It’s designed to run quietly. Ducting helps guide airflow over heat-sensitive areas, fans are optimized for quiet-running, and the case’s 400W power supply is whisper quiet. The pedestal also has plenty of room for storage, perfect for taking advantage of the on-board Intel Matrix Storage.

Building RAID into the system is a must and incorporating Solid State Drives into the array should be included as an option for your customers. Input/output operations per second (IOPS) are a prime metric for server performance, an area where SSDs really excel. Customers running transactional software or programs that create random I/O workloads will see a serious speed-up from solid state storage. Plus SSDs are, quiet, shock tolerant, and use considerably less power than a platter based drive.

Today’s savvy SMB’s have a sharp eye on their IT budget. They’re being offered lots of options, many based solely on speeds and feeds. Offering them with a total solution that solves their total for security, storage, and connectivity is a smart move the next time you make a sales presentation.

Real Server Transition Tool

Help your customers compare their current, outdated desktop-as-a-server configuration to a Real Server featuring an Intel Xeon processor using this interactive tool. See performance comparisons, adjust recommendations based upon desired usage model and more.

Download and Use the Real Server Comparison Tool Today »

Safe and Secure: Protecting Business

Security and data protection are huge concerns for your new customers’ small business. Memory errors are the most common hardware problems that lead to machine crashes—help your customers prevent, catch and correct memory errors, which can lead to a crash or data corruption. The Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family-based platforms support Error Correction Code (ECC) memory for a high level of data integrity, reliability, and system uptime and can detect multiple-bit memory errors, and locate and correct single-bit errors to keep business applications running smoothly. In fact, ECC detects and corrects up to 99.988% of all soft memory errors without the need to reboot, boosting your customer’s server uptime while helping protect their data. Show them key features the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family offers. Your real server solution delivers:

• Error Correction Code memory to correct the majority of soft errors.
• Intel® Advanced Encryption Standard has new instructions to accelerate encryption/decryption.
• Intel® Trusted Execution Technology offering built-in measurement and protection capabilities.
• Intel® Rapid Storage Technology to protect against hard drive failure and loss of critical data.
• Intel® AES-NI for improved encryption/decryption performance

Intel® RAID Controllers: Safeguard Your Data with LSI MegaRAID* Technology

Intel® RAID solutions are tailored to the technology and budget requirements of a specific server deployment with three distinct families of Intel RAID products. System builders architecting storage solutions can choose from Intel® Embedded Server RAID Technology II, Intel RAID Controllers, and Intel® Integrated Server RAID to match your customers’ requirements. All RAID technologies are easy to deploy, supported by a single Web-based user interface, and designed for seamless upgrades. And since Intel RAID is powered by LSI MegaRAID* technology, your customers get all the new enhancements such as solid-state drive (SSD) support, improved data protection with SSD Guard*, and increased energy efficiency with the new Dimmer Switch* option.

Know Which Intel® RAID Solution to Recommend

Good: Intel® Embedded Server RAID Technology II	Better: Intel® RAID Controllers	Best: Intel® Integrated Server RAID
Host-based RAID that uses the chipset, processors, and memory of the server board to provide basic data protection	Adapter (add-in) cards designed for standard expansion slots on a server board	Unique system boards that add value over standard add-in cards
Why Embedded RAID? Meets strict budget requirements (RAID 0, 1, 10 included with most Intel® Server Boards and Intel® Server Systems for no extra cost; RAID 5 available with upgrade key) Suitable for solutions that require six or fewer SATA drives	Why Intel RAID Controllers? Wide range of products addresses diverse customer needs Products are tested across multiple Intel and third-party server building blocks High port count and external port count models available	Why Integrated RAID? Eliminates the need for an add-in card, a particularly useful factor in 1U and 2U systems Optimized for Intel Server Boards and Intel Server Systems Flexible options from basic to advanced RAID
Why Consider Upgrading to Better or Best? Gain increased overall performance, particularly I/O response Gain superior data protection including battery backup Benefit from superior features such as revertible hot spare, RAID 6, and advanced management capabilities Avoid having to use system (server board processor and memory) resources for RAID calculations	Why Consider Upgrading to the Best? Suitable for systems that do not have standard add-in card slots available Gain greater flexibility Suitable for RAID solutions specifically designed and optimized for Intel Server Boards and Intel Server Systems (add-in cards may be sub-optimal as they are designed for general-purpose use)	Want Even More? Add an Intel® Smart Battery Backup Unit (BBU) to protect data in transit during a power interruption or system failure Use an Intel® Server Chassis for hot-swap drive bays and easy remote BBU mounting Add a premium feature key to further enhance your storage solution

Find the Right Memory with the Crucial Memory Advisor™ tool

Compatibility matters. The Crucial Memory Advisor tool helps you quickly and accurately determine the right upgrade for your customers’ needs and budgets. Through videos and articles, learn about easy memory installation. Crucial Community Forums are the perfect place to share ideas, ask questions, and discover even more about memory technology.
Use the Crucial Memory Advisor Comparison Tool Today »

Discover the real server advantages of entry-level platforms featuring the new Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1200 product family. The third-generation Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family is based on Intel’s next-generation microarchitecture, integrates up to 8 MB L3 cache, a Dual-Channel Memory Controller with support for up to 32 GB of DDR3 memory, a x16 PCI Express* 2.0 serial I/O controller, and Intel Virtualization Technology. The Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family provides significant performance headroom, especially for multi-threaded applications, with technologies such as Intel® Turbo Boost 2.0 and Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology, which help improve application responsiveness and system utilization through virtualization.

Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1200 Product Family The Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family is available in a range of features to match different computing demands. All processors integrate Intel® QuickPath Technology, Intel® Intelligent Power Technology and Intel® Virtualization Technology. Intel® VT FlexMigration, Intel® VT FlexPriority, and Intel® 64 Architecture4 are standard on all SKUs.

• ECC Memory helps to catch and correct memory errors, which can lead to a crash or data corruption. Memory errors are the most common hardware problems that lead to machine crashes.
• Intel® Rapid Storage Technology protects against hard drive failure and loss of critical business data.
• Intel® Accelerated Encryption Technology (AES -NI) provides efficient data encryption that doesn’t impact system performance.
• Intel® Active Management Technology allows IT experts to perform centralized, secure backups and virus protection updates remotely and proactively.
• Intel® Server Validation with Intel Xeon processor-based servers are designed, tested, and validated to perform dependably and reliably with server-class operating systems and components.

The Intel® Server Board S1200BT family is designed for the entry-level affordability and real server performance of the Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1200 Product Family. Your SMB customer may have always used a desktop PC as a server, but now may be ready to move up to server-class computing performance. The Intel Xeon processor E3-1200 product family and the Intel Server Board S1200BT family will offer them the efficiency, I/O flexibility, reliability, sever validation and RAID storage they need. Customers who choose an entry-level server based on the Intel Xeon processor E3-1200 product family and the Intel Server Board S1200BT family will enjoy:

• Improved reliability with automated memory error correction
• Always-present file storage and data backup for flexible remote access, information sharing and security
• A better return on investment with greater uptime, improved business performance and greater responsiveness

Intel® Entry Level Server Boards S1200BT Family offers a wide range of solutions for small business owners transitioning to a real server. Know the advantages of each to deliver the right server board to fit your customers’ needs.

The Intel® Server Board SB1200BTS is ideal for basic file sharing, email and printer management capabilities. Its uATX form factor makes it the more compact choice while offering just enough connector slots and SATA ports to more than meet basic business needs for real server reliability. Board features include:

• uATX (9.6” x 9.6”) form factor (with Rack-friendly layout)
• PCIe Gen2 I/O
• 4 DDR3 1066/1333 ECC UDIMM slots
• 4 PCI-E, PCI slots
• 1 PCI-E Gen2 x8 slot for 1U rack server
• 1 PCI 32 Legacy Slot
• Dual Gigabit Ethernet (82574L and 82579)
• 6 SATA ports via Cougar Point Chipset 6 @ 3Gb/s
• Intel® Rapid Storage Technology -- SW RAID 0,1,10, 5 ( w/ Linux support) and Intel® Embedded Storage RAID Technology -- SW RAID 0, 1, 10

The Intel® Server Board SB1200BTL is an entry-level server solution that provides manageability features and expansion capabilities for small businesses looking to grow. The Intel Server Board SB1200BTL includes IPMI 2.0 server management and supports Intel Intelligent Node Manager. With more PCI connector slots as well as a mezzanine board that does not occupy a PCI slot, this choice is ideal for the next-level real server.

Intel® Server Board SB1200BT Family is easily deployed in the Intel® Server Chassis P4304 Family is available in multiple options, giving your customers a choice of pedestal and 1U rack configurations for reliable, energy-efficient server performance. This optimized Intel® Chassis for 1S Server is the right-sized HDD support for target small business owners and offers a compact, modular system design that allows easy expansion. Features include: A new common front control panel provides easily accessible USB Ports Enhanced security mechanism at front door, side panel and back prevent un-authorized access to system New chassis industrial design allows for a dedicated branding area Snap-in trim panel can be installed in two locations Improved fan speed control design allows for finer fan speed granularity Fixed or Hot-swap SAS and SATA provides: Up to 4 x 3.5” drives support 2.5” drive compatible GPIO-controlled HDD activity supported by RST and LSI RAID SW stacks (hot swap only) Tool-less HDD carrier removal for quick and easy maintenance

The Intel Server Chassis P4304 delivers high-efficiency power supplies to reduce energy costs for your customers while meeting ENERGY STAR® guidelines. It is the right sized power supply for a uni-processor system and its enterprise-class power supply ensures server uptime, reduces maintenance and increases reliability.

	LC-S1200BTL	SE-S1200BTS
CHIPSET	Intel® C204 Chipset (Cougar Point Standard)	Intel® C202 Chipset (Cougar Point Essential)
PROCESSOR	Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1200 product family (Sandy Bridge)	Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1200 product family (Sandy Bridge)
MEMORY	4 DIMM DDR3 UDIMMS	4 DIMM DDR3 UDIMMS
FORM FACTOR	ATX	uATX
SLOTS	1 Mezzanine Connector on board for SAS upgrade module (doesn’t consumer a PCIe slot) 1 PCIe Gen2 x8 w/ x16 connector 3 PCIe Gen2 x4 w/ x8 connector 1 PCI 32/33	1 PCIe Gen2 x8 w/ x16 connector 1 PCIe Gen2 x8 w/ x8 connector 1 PCIe Gen2 x4 w/ x8 connector 1 PCI 32/33
STORAGE	SATA SKU – 6 SATA ports (2x 6Gb/s, 4 x3Gb/s) Support Intel® Integrated RAID Module & Intel® SAS Entry RAID Module on Mezzanine Connector	SATA SKU – 6 SATA ports (6x 3Gb/s)
ISM/SW	IPMI 2.0 server management RMM4 Lite and Dedicated NIC module upgrades Supports Intel® Intelligent Node Manager Supports Trusted Platform Module (TPM)	No Management Supports Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
CHASSIS	P4304XXSFCN Union Peak Fixed (Entry Pedestal) P4304BTLSHCN, P4304BTLSFCN (Ped BIKs) R1304BTLSHBN, R1304BTLSFAN Buffalo Peak 1U Rack BIKs (4 HS HDDs, or Fixed HHDs)	P4304XXSFCN Union Peak Fixed (Entry Pedestal) P4304BTSSFCN (Ped BIKs) R1304BTSSFAN Buffalo Peak 1U Rack BIK (4 Fixed HHDs)

Intel® C200 Series Chipset Key The new Intel® C200 Series Chipset features consolidated architecture that integrates multiple platform capabilities into one small package. The Intel® C200 Series Chipset is designed specifically to meet your customers’ small business needs, delivering cost-effective data protection, performance, expanded security, virtualization and power management options.

Feature*	Benefit
SATA* Ports	Support for up to 2 (6Gb/s) ports plus 4 (3Gb/s) ports and ability to disable individual ports via Intel® Rapid Storage Technology driver stack Support for external SATA (eSATA) capability
PCI Express* 2.0	Supports 8 PCIe 2.0 (5 GT/s) ports allowing flexible configurations
Intel® Rapid Storage Technology	Provides enhanced RAID performance for quicker access to digital photo, video and data files plus greater data protection against HDD failure
USB* 2.0 Ports	Support for up to 14 ports with ability to disable individual ports for added protection of data
Intel® AMT 7.0	Enables cost-effective remote manageability for small and medium businesses
Node Manager	Provides system-level power reporting and power capping
Intel® Integrated 10/100/1000 MAC	Support for the Intel® 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection
Halogen Free	Support for Halogen-free component packages

*Not all features available for every Intel® C200 series chipset Intel® RST support for RAID levels 1, 5, and 10 protects data from drive failure through drive redundancy. With RAID 5, writing data to multiple hard drives protects digital assets. This makes data recovery easy by simply replacing the failed drive. Intel RST provides RAID level 1 configurations in a fast, easy-to-use method allowing end users to recover their data and return their system to an operational status. This is accomplished by supporting the capability to boot instantly off of a hard drive clone.

The Intel® Ethernet family of X520 server adapters based upon the Intel® 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller includes support for iSCSI acceleration and advanced features for unified networking. The controller enables fast and reliable networked storage with native iSCSI support with Microsoft*, Linux*, and VMware* operating systems as well as support for Intel® iSCSI Remote Boot. Priority groups and per priority pause support are also implemented in the controller.

Intel’s third-generation 10GbE controller, the Intel® 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet controller continues to build on the innovative trends set by its predecessor and pushes the envelope even further.

• Advanced features such as Receive Side Coalescing, Intel® Ethernet Flow Director, and support for PCI Express* 2.0 help deliver new levels of 10GbE performance
• Intel® Virtualization Technology⁵ for Connectivity (Intel® VT-c) delivers industry-leading I/O virtualization capabilities that provide flexibility, scalability and mobility
• Advanced unified networking capabilities, including support for lossless Ethernet, iSCSI acceleration, NAS, and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) offloads help consolidate data center networks onto a single Ethernet fabric

The Intel 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet controller along with Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family-based servers deliver unmatched performance scalability that signals a new paradigm in the data center—intelligent solutions that help manage growth while controlling costs; advanced virtualization features; and a simple, cost-effective, unified network. The Intel® 82598 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller is a next-generation, PCI Express* 2.0 (2.5 Gbps) controller with balanced features and energy-efficient design capable of meeting the throughput and latency requirements of bandwidth-hungry applications.

• High-performing, PCI Express* 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet connection ideally suited for demanding enterprise applications and embedded system designs
• Dual-port, industry-leading, energy-efficient design creating new opportunities for blades and LAN-on-motherboard (LOM) solutions
• Introduces multiple product innovations optimized for virtualization and ideal for server consolidation
• High-volume stable architecture that includes broad operating system support

Intel’s new family of Intel® Ethernet X520 Server Adapters are the most flexible and scalable Ethernet adapters for today’s demanding data center environments. The Intel® Ethernet X520 Server Adapter family addresses the demanding needs of the next-generation data center by providing unmatched features for virtualization, flexibility for LAN and SAN networking, and proven, reliable performance. The 10Gb iWARP-enabled NetEffect™ Ethernet Server Cluster Adapters provide unequaled clustering performance for high performance computing (HPC) applications on standards based Ethernet fabrics. The patented virtual pipeline architecture provides extreme low latency characteristics even when faced with the workloads generated by today's high core count servers.

• Product Brief
• Open FCoE Technical Brief

Intel® SSDs provide many configuration options for enterprise applications. Potential benefits include improved TCO for I/O-intensive applications, higher I/O performance in less space, reduced power consumption, and increased reliability. For use with read-intensive enterprise applications, Intel® X25-M Mainstream SATA Solid-State Drives offer a good, cost-effective solution. For write-intensive applications, the Intel® X25-E Extreme SATA Solid State Drives provide the best performance. The Intel® X25-V SSD can be used as a fast, reliable boot drive in a multi-drive environment. In addition to using the industry standard SATA interface, Intel SSDs have been tested and validated on the latest Intel-based server and workstation platforms. Help remove I/O bottlenecks and lower power consumption in your customers' server and high-end workstation applications by using Intel SSDs. Your customers will get customized solutions that

• Handle more users and respond to them more quickly
• Have higher overall system reliability because of fewer drive failures
• Reduce total cost of ownership (TCO)

Intel® RAID Controllers provide the perfect complement to Intel® server boards and systems. Complete your systems with Intel® RAID to get the best results and offer enterprise-class data storage protection and performance to your SMB customers. Experience greater ease-of-use, reduced power consumption, and faster performance. Intel’s new RAID products let you put outstanding performance to work with new RAID-On-Chip technology, native PCI Express* architecture, and high-speed cache. Intel® Embedded Server RAID Technology Intel® Embedded Server RAID Technology is host-based RAID that utilizes the chipset, processors, and memory of the server board to provide basic data protection. This is the entry-level standard for Intel® Xeon® processor 5000 sequence-based server boards. Intel® Integrated Server RAID Intel® Integrated Server RAID refers to unique system boards that offer intelligent RAID protection for SAS and SATA hard disk drives. It provides the option for higher fault tolerance than Intel® Embedded Server RAID Technology.

Intel® RAID Controllers are add-in cards designed to provide a wide variety of RAID solutions for Intel® Server boards and systems.

The Intel® RAID Controller RS2BL080, a first-generation 6G SAS adapter incorporating LSI* MegaRAID* technology, offers unprecedented performance with exceptional data protection and design flexibility. Features including LSI SAS2108 6Gb/s RAID on Chip (ROC) silicon and a native PCI Express* Generation 2 architecture allow for significant performance gains for both 3Gb/s and 6Gb/s drive-based solutions. Data protection and availability are enhanced by new features including Decision Feedback Equalization for greater signal integrity, enhanced diagnostics, and more robust error reporting.

The Intel® RAID Controller RS2BL080 is a powerful internal 6Gb/s SAS, 3Gb/s, or 3Gb/s SATA RAID solution for mainstream use. It can connect up to eight SAS or SATA hard drives directly, or up to thirty two using SAS expanders. This adapter can also support an optional Intel® RAID Smart Battery, AXXRSBBU7, which protects cached data by providing power to the module in the event of server or power failure. Available in two models—a standard model and one with added Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) support.

The Intel® RAID Controller SRCSATAWB is one in a family of Intel first-generation RAID solutions to use RAID-On-Chip (ROC) technology, delivering state-of-the-art power and performance. Designed for solutions using low cost, high capacity SATA hard drives, the SRCSATAWB offers features typically found in higher-end RAID solutions, such as RAID 6 and expander-based backplane support.

Through the use of double parity, RAID 6 delivers data protection even in the case of two simultaneous hard drive failures—a scenario far too common during the stressing of SATA hard disk drives. The SRCSATAWB is built on SAS technology, so it is compatible with the same software stack as Intel's SAS ROC-based solutions. The SRCSATAWB also supports drive bays with expander-based backplanes and up to 16 hot-swap drives.

The Intel® Integrated Server RAID Module SROMBSASMR, powered by LSI* MegaRAID* technology, offers intelligent RAID protection for servers using SAS or SATA hard drives. Designed specifically for select Intel® server boards, this SAS/SATA RAID module communicates with the host system through a custom PCI Express* board-to-board interface. With the popularity of rack-dense 1U and 2U servers increasing, this design allows system builders to easily implement a robust RAID solution without sacrificing a valuable riser-card slot or using a chassis with low-profile add-in card cut-outs.

Designed with an integrated LSI SAS1078 RAID-On-Chip*, a PCI Express* x4 host interface, and 667MHz DDR2 memory, the SROMBSASMR is a powerful internal SAS/SATA RAID solution for mainstream use. It can connect up to four SAS or SATA hard drives directly, or up to sixteen using SAS expanders. This module can also support an optional Intel® RAID Smart Battery AXXRSBBU3, which protects cached data by providing power to the module in the event of server or power failure.

See Intel’s Complete RAID Offerings Here »

Crucial provides memory products in a broad range of speeds, densities, form factors and technologies. From DDR RDIMMs to DDR2 FBDIMMS to the latest DDR3 server modules, they have the memory to fit your customers’ applications. Today’s SMBs are increasingly challenged to find ways to improve productivity and get the most performance for the least cost. Upgrading their server is one of the easiest, most economical, and most effective ways to experience dramatic productivity gains.

One of your business customers’ greatest opportunities to improve overall system performance when moving up to a real server is to upgrade server memory. One of the biggest obstacles to profitability for small business without a comprehensive server solution is the inability to handle the traffic that comes their way. The right amount of RAM can ensure that they are prepared for sudden surges in online traffic.

Performance Impact Intel® Xeon® processors are built with technologies designed to deliver intelligent performance and 24/7 dependability to help businesses of all sizes improve productivity. Are your customers ready to upgrade to real server performance? With an Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 Product Family-based server, their business can benefit from:

• Greater than 3x the performance versus 3+ year-old desktop-based servers¹
• Automatic detection and correction of the majority of soft memory errors to keep your data secure and your system running
• Expandable memory and gigabit networking to keep employees productive as your business grows

Application performance is critical for day-to-day business operations, as well as creating new products and reaching new customers. But many data centers are now at capacity, and new data centers are expensive to build. By refreshing data center infrastructure with more efficient servers, you can deliver additional performance and scalability within the same energy and space footprint. The Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 Product Family brings intelligent performance to the most widely-deployed server architecture. The Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family is the world’s most adaptable server platform, adjusting performance and power usage in real time to meet the exact requirements of your computing workloads, while allowing manual adjustment for IT control. The Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 Product Family brings together a number of innovative technologies to deliver intelligent performance: The Intel Xeon processor 5600 series brings together a number of innovative technologies to deliver intelligent performance:

• Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 ³, together with Intel® Intelligent Power Technology, delivers efficient, intelligent, dynamic performance on demand, letting processors operate above the rated frequency to speed specific workloads and reduce power consumption during low utilization periods.
• Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology⁴ benefits from larger caches and massive memory bandwidth, delivering greater throughput and responsiveness for multi-threaded applications.
• Intel® QuickPath Technology and an integrated memory controller speed traffic between processors and I/O controllers for bandwidth-intensive applications, delivering up to 4.4x the bandwidth for technical computing.⁵

The intelligent performance of the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 Product Family also gives IT fine-grained manual control to adapt to changing priorities or to meet service-level agreements (SLAs). For example, Intel® Intelligent Power Technology enables policy-based control that allows processors to operate at optimal frequency and power. The operating systems can make this determination automatically, or administrators can designate which applications require high-frequency processing and which should be executed at lower frequencies to conserve power. 10 Gigabit Ethernet provides a vital performance element in any next-generation data center. Data centers are demanding flexible and scalable I/O solutions to meet the rigorous requirements of running mission-critical applications in virtualized and unified storage environments. With the latest server platform, customers can now realize the full potential of 10 Gigabit Ethernet networking and realize up to 2.5 times the bandwidth supported by earlier-generation platforms.

Growth of 10 Gigabit Ethernet will enable broader deployments of virtualized servers and unified networks, providing unparalleled throughput. These performance improvements come at a cost, however, as servers will be forced to handle more network data than ever before. Intel has addressed the rise in virtualization demand by creating Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT), a suite of powerful enhancements to Intel® processors, chipsets, and I/O devices enabling hardware-assisted virtualization support from the core platform architecture. The hardware assists that Intel® VT provides to the virtualization software helps hypervisor providers to deliver more simple and robust code, decreasing software overhead, and its potential impact to solution performance. Intel’s latest addition to its suite of virtualization technologies is Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT) for Connectivity (Intel® VT-c). This new collection of I/O virtualization technologies improves overall system performance by improving communication between host CPU and I/O devices within the virtual server. Intel® VT-c provides I/O technologies that optimize virtualized performance:

• Enhanced data acceleration across the Intel multi-core processors platforms
• Improved data processing performance across multiple queues on the network controller
• Direct VM connectivity and data protection between the VMs
• Server consolidation using virtual machines (VMs) on fewer physical servers lowers data center capital and operating costs. Larger workloads also take advantage of dramatic performance improvements from the latest Intel multi-core processors.

Today, virtualized environments implement a software based NIC sharing model, where a software bridge in the Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) moves and sorts packets between VMs. The data path to the NIC is serial in nature with the VMM processing on a per packet basis. When servicing multiple VMs in this model, performance degrades rapidly.

With VMDq, the Intel® Ethernet Controller supports multiple queues, and has the ability to filter and sort packets into each of these queues based on VM characteristics such as MAC address or VLAN tag. The NIC also indicates packets in bursts per interrupt to the VMM. This allows the VMM to process and move packets in groups to the VMs.

Since the sorting is already done by the hardware, the VMM is spared the task of sorting incoming packets to the appropriate VMs. On the transmit side, the NIC hardware services each of the queues with packets from different VMs, in a round-robin fashion. This contributes to transmit fairness, avoids head-of-line blocking between the VMs, and the pipe is more efficiently used as a result. Drawing upon decades of memory engineering experience, Intel® SATA Solid-State Drive are designed to deliver outstanding performance and reliability, while consuming less power. These Intel drives include proprietary reliability features and endurance management for higher reliability, meaning Intel drives not only perform better—they last longer. The performance delivered by server processors has scaled dramatically in recent years: since 1996, CPU performance has increased 175x, accelerating primarily due to the introduction of multi-core processors. However, hard disk drive (HDD) performance lags far behind and has increased only 1.3x in the same period of time. To determine the potential of solid-state drives (SSDs) to replace hard disk drives (HDDs) in the enterprise, Intel IT conducted a proof of concept (PoC) focusing on two use cases: replacement of data HDDs in disk arrays to accelerate enterprise applications and replacement of internal server OS HDDs. This PoC included performance tests, measurement of power consumption, and total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) analysis.

TCO analysis showed that using SSDs to replace high-performance HDDs in arrays could increase I/O performance by up to 8x for comparable TCO.
Intel IT performed tests to measure random I/O performance using Intel® X25-E Extreme SATA Solid-State Drives and HDDs and also compared SSD and HDD power consumption and operating temperature. Based on our results and other factors, we analyzed the impact of replacing HDDs with SSDs on TCO.

Results:

• Tests comparing SSDs with data HDDs in disk arrays showed that SSDs generated significant I/O performance improvements with a broad range of read/write ratios, block sizes, and RAID levels.
• Storage subsystem TCO analysis showed that using SSDs to replace high-performance HDDs in arrays could increase I/O performance by up to 8x for comparable storage TCO.
• Using SSDs as OS disks reduced the time required for common support tasks such as installs and reboots by up to 73 percent.
• SSDs consumed up to 93 percent less power than HDDs.

Read the Full Report: Advantages of Intel® SATA Solid-State Drives in the Enterprise » Easily manage the health and optimize the performance of your Intel Solid-State Drives with the Intel® SSD Toolbox including the Intel® SSD Optimizer. This powerful set of management, information and diagnostic applications was designed by Intel to help you get the best performance out of 34nm Intel SSDs. Included is the Intel® SSD Optimizer—a utility that keeps your Intel® SSD running at peak performance.
Get all the Details about the Intel SSD Optimizer in this Whitepaper » The Intel® Solid-State Drive (SSD) Toolbox provides the following functional capabilities:

• Accessing Intel SSD management features.
• Reporting the drive identification data for Intel SSDs, as well as other drives.
• Accessing the Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) attributes for Intel SSDs, as well as other drives.
• Checking the SMART thresholds and viewing recommended actions for Intel SSDs, as well as other drives.
• Running diagnostic scans on Intel SSDs to check for any READ or WRITE errors.

Download the Intel® Solid-State Drive (SSD) Toolbox for free at:
www.intel.com/go/ssdtoolbox To deliver top performance for bandwidth-intensive applications, the Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1200 Product Family features Intel® QuickPath Technology (see Figure). This new scalable, shared memory architecture delivers memory bandwidth leadership, and up to 4.4x the bandwidth of previous-generation processors.¹ Intel QuickPath Technology is a platform architecture that provides high-speed (up to 25.6 GB/s), point-to-point connections between processors, and between processors and the I/O hub. Each processor has its own dedicated memory that it accesses directly through an Integrated Memory Controller. In cases where a processor needs to access the dedicated memory of another processor, it can do so through a high-speed Intel® QuickPath Interconnect (Intel® QPI) that links all the processors. Intel’s new 32nm manufacturing technology microarchitecture (found on the latest Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1200 Product Family processors) complements the benefits of Intel QPI by enhancing Intel® Smart Cache with an inclusive shared L3 cache that boosts performance while reducing traffic to the processor cores. Intel’s SAS 2.0 RAID controllers, featuring the LSI SAS2108 SAS RAID-on-Chip (ROC) processor, offer significant streaming read and write performance enhancements for solutions architected with 3Gb/s or 6Gb/s drives. Their superior read/write performance makes them ideally suited for a broad range of application workloads, from compute intensive data center applications such as email, OLTP, and database to storage and content applications such as streaming video, and data archival. Intel’s RS2 generation of RAID products offer several architecture changes aimed to provide new or enhanced benefits. The new LSI SAS2108 chip combines the processing power of an 800MHz dedicated RAID processor with the added benefit of an integrated SAS 2.0, 6Gb/s controller. The faster clock speed of the controller coupled with dedicated DMA channels for every Phy results in a higher number of XOR calculations per second. This dramatically increases the RAID 5 and RAID 6 write capability of the controller as these write operations are heavily dependent on XOR calculations and direct memory access.

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology¹ is one of the many exciting features that Intel has built into latest-generation Intel® microarchitecture found inside the latest E3-1200 Product Family for SMB. By automatically allowing processor cores to run faster than the base operating frequency if they are operating below power, current, and temperature specification limits, Intel® Turbo Boost Technology can give your customers an extra performance boost when their business needs demand it.

• Efficient: Varies turbo frequency as needed to conserve energy
• Dynamic: Boosts performance for high-intensity workloads
• Intelligent: Manages power, thermal headroom to optimize performance

Many server and workstation applications lend themselves to parallel, multi-threaded execution. Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology enables simultaneous multi-threading within each processor core, up to two threads per core or eight threads per quad-core processor. Hyperthreading reduces computational latency, making optimal use of every clock cycle. For example, while one thread is waiting for a result or event, another thread is executing in that core, to maximize the work from each clock cycle.

To help your customer appreciate the advantages of Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology, have them imagine data flowing through their processor like cars down a multi-lane highway. Running computer-intensive processor applications on an Intel® Xeon® processor with Intel® Hyper-Threading technology is like taking a four line-highway and doubling it to eight lanes. The result? More simultaneous “traffic” can pass through at the same time—reducing bottlenecks and getting things where they need to go faster.

To deliver top performance for bandwidth-intensive applications, the Intel Xeon processor E3-1200 product family features Intel® QuickPath Technology. This new scalable, shared memory architecture delivers memory bandwidth leadership, and up to 4.4x the bandwidth of previous-generation processors.²

Intel QuickPath Technology is a platform architecture that provides high-speed (up to 25.6 GB/s), point-to-point connections between processors, and between processors and the I/O hub. Each processor has its own dedicated memory that it accesses directly through an Integrated Memory Controller. In cases where a processor needs to access the dedicated memory of another processor, it can do so through a high-speed Intel® QuickPath Interconnect (Intel® QPI) that links all the processors.

Intel’s industry-leading Intel® silicon microarchitecture technology (32nm Hi-k process technology) complements the benefits of Intel QPI by enhancing Intel® Smart Cache with an inclusive shared L3 cache that boosts performance while reducing traffic to the processor cores.

Crucial provides memory products in a broad range of speeds, densities, form factors and technologies. From DDR RDIMMs to DDR2 FBDIMMS to the latest DDR3 server modules, they have the memory to fit your customers’ applications. Today’s SMBs are increasingly challenged to find ways to improve productivity and get the most performance for the least cost. Upgrading their server is one of the easiest, most economical, and most effective ways to experience dramatic productivity gains.

One of your business customers’ greatest opportunities to improve overall system performance when moving up to a real server is to upgrade server memory. One of the biggest obstacles to profit for small business without a comprehensive server solution is a system that can't handle the traffic that comes their way. The right amount of RAM can ensure that they are prepared for sudden surges in online traffic. The servers in your customers’ datacenters need memory that's not only guaranteed compatible—but it's certified to work. Crucial has the technology, expertise, and resources to deliver the qualified memory that SMBs need. Crucial Memory Integrity Labs (CMIL) performs a wide range of compatibility and integrity testing on a broad number of motherboards and platforms. This testing meets or exceeds any third-party compatibility testing. Crucial’s new energy-efficient memory was designed, tested and validated to work with the Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1200 Product Family, and is a perfect fit for SMBs upgrading to a real server. By utilizing more energy-efficient servers, your customers’ organizations can slash memory energy consumption by up to 40% or more compared to legacy servers—while getting all the speed, performance, and capacity of the latest Intel-based servers.

Learn more about energy-efficient Crucial memory modules » Real servers for SMB can take advantage of Crucial modules with fewer overall memory modules compared to legacy DDR2 server memory. They also run at significantly lower voltages to deliver up to a 40% memory power savings when compared to legacy servers.

Crucial’s new memory, conforming to the JEDEC specification for low-voltage DDR3 (called DDR3L), can maximize your customers’ energy savings and reduce their server cooling needs by enhancing thermal performance. They will enjoy the benefits of improved performance while lowering power usage, because DDR3L operates at voltages of 1.35v (as opposed to 1.5v) using less power. DDR3L also runs natively at 1.5v, making it compatible with all existing Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1200 Platforms, regardless of processor used.

Crucial’s DDR3L Registered DIMMs are guaranteed compatible with the next-generation Intel Xeon processor-based server platform, suited for the efficient performance of server and workstation segments. As a result, your SMB customers can rest assured that their servers will run more efficiently and reliably than ever. Crucial DDR3L Registered DIMMs are available in various capacitates, in singles and kits, and in both standard and very low profile (VLP) heights. Crucial offers a full line of server memory modules that are compliant with the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (TAA). Government agencies, Educational institutions, and the organizations that serve them can rely on Crucial to supply premium-quality memory solutions that are TAA compliant. Crucial TAA-compliant memory conforms to the strict requirements that products supplied under TAA-covered contracts be entirely produced, or last substantially transformed in, the United States or one of the specifically enumerated TAA “designated” countries listed in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Crucial memory TAA-compliant modules are tested 100% at both the component and module level and carry a Limited Lifetime warranty. Download the Intel® SSD Toolbox with Intel® SSD Optimizer for a suite of applications to easily manage the health and optimize the performance of your Intel SSD. The Intel SSD Toolbox includes a powerful set of management, information and diagnostic tools, and is designed to work best with 34nm Intel SSDs. The Intel SSD Optimizer utilizes the new ATA Data Set Management Command (Trim Attribute) to help maintain your SSDs performance at "fresh-out-of-the-box" levels, and is specifically designed to run with Microsoft Windows 7.* The Intel SSD Optimizer also works with Microsoft Windows Vista* and XP* operating systems as well. The Intel® Solid-State Drive (SSD) Toolbox provides the following functional capabilities:

• Accessing Intel SSD management features.
• Reporting the drive identification data for Intel SSDs, as well as other drives.
• Accessing the Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) attributes for Intel SSDs, as well as other drives.
• Checking the SMART thresholds and viewing recommended actions for Intel SSDs, as well as other drives.
• Running diagnostic scans on Intel SSDs to check for any READ or WRITE errors.

Download the Intel® Solid-State Drive (SSD) Toolbox for free at:
www.intel.com/go/ssdtoolbox

As data centers reach the upper limits of their power and cooling capacity, efficiency has become the focus of extending the life of existing data centers and designing new ones. As part of these efforts, IT needs to refresh existing infrastructure with standard enterprise servers that deliver more performance and scalability, more efficiently. The Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1200 Product Family automatically regulates power consumption and intelligently adjusts server performance according to your customers’ application needs, maximizing both energy efficiency and performance. The secret to this compelling combination is Intel’s new 32nm microarchitecture. Featuring Intel® Intelligent Power Technology1 that automatically shifts the CPU and memory into the lowest available power state, while delivering the performance your customers need, the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 Product Family delivers the same performance as previous-generation servers but uses up to 30 percent less power.2 And your customers can achieve up to a 95 percent reduction in energy costs when consolidating their single-core infrastructure with a new infrastructure built on Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 product family. This groundbreaking intelligent server technology features:

• Intel’s new 32nm silicon microarchitecture technology (32nm Hi-k process technology) built with second-generation high-k and metal gate transistor technology.
• Intelligent Performance that automatically optimizes performance to fit business and application requirements and delivers up to 40 percent more performance per watt than Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series.⁴
• Automated Energy Efficiency that scales energy usage to the workload to achieve optimal performance/watt and with new 40 watt processor options and support for lower power DDR3 memory, you can lower your energy costs even further.
• Flexible virtualization that offers best-in-class performance and manageability in virtualized environments to improve IT infrastructure and enable up to 15:1 consolidation over two socket, single-core servers.²

New standard enterprise servers and workstations built with this new generation of Intel® process technology offer an unprecedented opportunity to dramatically advance the efficiency of IT infrastructure and provide unmatched business capabilities. Intel® Intelligent Power Technology and low-power states automatically minimize power consumption when server components are not used. Intel’s new microarchitecture features Integrated Power Gates which allow individual idling CPU cores to be reduced to near-zero power, and Automated Low Power States which automatically put the processor and memory into the lowest available power states to meet the requirements of the workload. For the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 Product Family, new low power processor SKUs and low-voltage DDR3 memory support options can increase power savings by up to 30% over the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series without sacrificing performance.5 Intel Intelligent Power Technology can also enable similar efficiency advantages for small and medium-sized businesses considering their first server featuring the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 Product Family series.

With the advent of dynamic server consolidation and increasingly powerful servers such as those based on Intel’s Nehalem architecture, more workloads and applications than ever before are being consolidated per physical host. As a result, the need is even greater for high-bandwidth 10GbE solutions. Moreover, features that provide high performance with multi-core servers, optimizations for virtualization, and unified networking with Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and iSCSI make 10GbE the clear connectivity medium of choice for the data center. Moving from multiple GbE to fewer 10GbE connections will enable a flexible, dynamic, and scalable network infrastructure that reduces complexity and management overhead, while providing high availability and redundancy. With the latest server platform, your customers can now realize the full potential of 10 Gigabit Ethernet networking and realize up to 2.5 times the bandwidth supported by earlier generation platforms. The significant cost-per-port reduction for 10GbE—projected to continue to decline as it becomes even more mainstream—along with the continuing and significant performance gains and energy efficiencies of multi-core processors like the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 Product Family in blades and other platforms portends a significant rise in 10GbE connectivity throughout data centers and networks. This is especially true for server virtualization and high-density computing environments where I/O bandwidth and throughput are critical. Additionally, with the emergence of iSCSI initiators in OSs and iSCSI Remote Boot support in Intel® Server Adapters for PCIe, 10GbE is well poised for an expanding role in SAN applications. The future role of 10GbE and Ethernet in I/O convergence promises to provide a lower-cost network infrastructure that is both more agile and responsive in meeting the needs of small-to-midsize enterprise customers.

In short, 10GbE deployment in data centers is on a growth path driven by needs for higher performance and supported by falling per-port prices for 10GbE capability. 10GbE is the here-and-now upgrade and migration path to the high-performance networks of the future. To ensure a smooth and cost-effective migration path, Intel has created a new generation of 10GbE server adapters with a balanced set of features specially optimized to take advantage of new and emerging technologies. Whether in a small, standalone first server or a midsize datacenter, deploying Intel® Solid-State Drives can help your customers realize significant efficiency advantages. Unlike traditional hard disk drives, Intel Solid-State Drives have no moving parts, resulting in a quiet, cool storage solution that also offers significantly higher performance than traditional server drives featuring moving parts. By choosing Intel Solid-State Drives, your customers can handle the same server workload in less space, with dramatically reduced cooling requirements and lower power consumption. That space and power savings, for the same server workload, will translate to a tangible reduction in their TCO. For the latest channel-specific updates, technical and support documentation, and sales tools, visit:
www.intel.com/go/channelssd

As with many other technologies and features, virtualization—once reserved for the enterprise—is now bringing benefits and advantages to small and medium-sized businesses. Intel is committed to advancing virtualization throughout small and medium-sized business environments with a line of multi-port Gigabit Ethernet adapters.

With small and medium-sized businesses stepping up to the advantages of enterprise-class server infrastructures, they are also looking to adopt virtualization and improve total cost of ownership (TCO) and simplify IT. In so doing, they benefit from additional processor headroom in progressively more powerful platforms based on Intel® Architecture. As they use more powerful servers, server consolidation ratios climb, and the number of virtual machines (VMs) running per physical host increases. This trend provides an excellent opportunity for you to offer the latest Intel® multi-core technology while continuing to drive up processor utilization.

More VMs per physical host increase the amount of network traffic per host, which necessitates a larger number of physical network ports. This increase can cause the system to become constrained in terms of the number of PCI Express* slots available to accommodate network interface cards. Quad-port and dual-port Intel® Ethernet Server Adapters are an important means of increasing the number of network ports that servers can support, which makes them an important system component as organizations scale out their virtualization environments.

Server virtualization improves scalability, manageability and availability while lowering total cost of ownership (TCO) for your small business customers. But these virtualization advantages bring with them a need for additional Ethernet connections.

Take for example, VMware* ESX Server, which recommends a minimum of four network connections:

• One for the VMware service console
• One for VMotion to enable dynamic workload balancing
• One for each virtual machine and its applications
• One for each Virtual Machine—redundancy

Many industry experts recommend a minimum of six network connections:

• One for the management console
• One to enable dynamic workload balancing
• One for system management
• One for system heartbeat
• One for each Virtual Machine and its applications
• One for redundancy per Virtual Machine

Moving to 10GbE Can Enable…¹

• 45% Reduction in Power per Rack
• 80% Reduction in Cables and Switch ports
• 15% Reduction in Infra-structure Costs
• 2x Improvement in Bandwidth per Server

Deploying Intel® Ethernet 10GbE Server Adapters in virtualized environments helps mid-size and enterprise businesses reduce the complexity and cost of their network infrastructures. Advanced hardware and software technologies work together to ensure that security and performance requirements can be met without the large numbers of physical server connections required in GbE legacy networks.

Virtualization solutions employing multi-port Intel® Ethernet Adapters have many key advantages for small and mid-size businesses.

• High performance. Multi-port Intel Ethernet Server Adapters can reduce network downtime and optimize utilization of the server’s processing capability. Support for PCI Express enables organizations to realize maximum benefit from server virtualization and consolidation by taking advantage of high bandwidth and scalability support. These adapters also include support for advanced server features, including redundant network links for server failover, adaptive load balancing and link aggregation for increased scalability and throughput, and interrupt moderation for significantly enhanced processor utilization.
• Extensive compatibility. With a flexible design that fits almost any type of PCI slot, multi-port Intel Ethernet Server Adapters include standards-based management features and wide network operating system support to help ensure extensive compatibility with the latest server and networking environments. Intel Ethernet Server Adapters are compatible with full-height and low-profile PCI slots. On select adapters, the standard, full-height bracket can be easily swapped out and replaced by the shorter, low-profile bracket for installation in high-density servers that feature low-profile slots.
• Increased reliability. Intel® Advanced Network Services (Intel® ANS) software allows administrators to increase uptime with redundant teamed connections. Switch fault tolerance and test switch configuration features help test compatibility and further increase uptime. Multi-port Intel Ethernet Server Adapters can be configured to automatically switch to a secondary link when a server’s primary link fails. Server performance can be further enhanced by teaming connections on adapters with each other, with connections on other Intel Ethernet Server Adapters or with LAN-on-Motherboard components using Intel ANS features to achieve enhanced scalability and redundancy for server failover capability. Advanced cable diagnostics can dynamically test and report network problems, such as interrupts, and automatically compensate for cable issues.
• Server expandability and business continuity. Proactively including multi-port Intel Ethernet Server Adapters at the time of server purchase helps to ensure server expandability by helping avoid the cost of taking a server offline to install a new adapter when adding servers or VMs. Multi-port Intel Ethernet Server Adapters also enable business continuity by allowing IT administrators to dedicate ports for remote storage and management, including storage area networks (SANs) and network attached storage (NAS).
• Network segmentation. To help ensure that IT organizations can support unpredictable network demands, such as heavy traffic on Web servers and intranets, IT departments are increasingly segmenting enterprise networks. Segmentation helps provide better data security and uptime for each network. Employing multi-port network adapters can provide the platform flexibility to respond to the evolving needs for segmentation and enable the connection to multiple switches to segment traffic on a network.
• Cabling advantages. Intel offers dual-port and quad-port adapters with both copper and fiber-optic connections. Both types of adapters use a common driver technology, which helps reduce IT complexity.
• Ease of management. Centralized remote management. Dual-port and quad-port Intel Ethernet Server Adapters support standard management protocols to further reduce TCO. These protocols include Wired for Management (WfM), Microsoft Remote Installation Service (RIS), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), and Desktop Management Interface (DMI).

Live migration technology moves live, operating virtual machines from one physical system to another while maintaining continuous service availability. This capability allows fast reconfiguration and optimization of resources across the virtual infrastructure.



Intel works together with providers of operating systems, hypervisors, and server and network hardware to help ensure that the full virtualization ecosystem interoperates as smoothly as possible. Beyond simple standards compliance, products from various ecosystem members are pre-validated together to deliver optimal results. Your end customers benefit from this collaboration as they implement solutions that build value using the latest capabilities:

• Workload consolidation. By providing higher network port density and helping to ensure smooth interoperability, multi-port Intel Ethernet Server Adapters enable high server consolidation ratios, for increased hardware value.
• Live migration. Intel Ethernet Server Adapters are pre-validated across the ecosystem to support the movement of running VMs from one physical server to another without restarting them, the basis for robust load balancing, automatic failover, and high availability.
• Robust management. Pre-validation with industry-leading management software helps ensure that Intel Ethernet Server Adapters are compatible with the latest management capabilities for physical and virtual resources.

Together, these capabilities make multi-port Intel Ethernet Server Adapters ideally suited for use in virtualized environments, regardless of the operating system, virtualization software, or server hardware being used. Because migration to 10GbE can dramatically reduce the number of physical server adapters needed for a given configuration, your customers can realize a variety of cost advantages:

• Decreasing the number of physical server adapters, switch ports, and support infrastructure components required can potentially reduce capital costs.
• Providing a physically simpler environment where misconfigurations are more easily avoided can also help to decrease support costs, while enabling greater automation through the extensive use of virtualization.
• Reducing the number of server adapters and switch ports being powered in data centers can contribute to substantial energy savings.

In addition, the ability to dynamically allocate bandwidth on demand increases flexibility while enabling organizations to derive maximum value from their network hardware. As a result, 10GbE is superior to GbE as a connectivity technology for virtualized networks. As future generations of data centers continue to grow the demands placed on the infrastructure, the level of that superiority is expected to increase. Research shows that upgrading to multi-core servers with higher performing, more efficient processors can accelerate data center ROI, saving on power and cooling, space, labor, and software licensing costs. By refreshing IT infrastructure with more energy-efficient systems, your customers gain capacity to grow and to increase IT performance, reduce energy costs by 95 percent, and realize ROI in as little as 5 months.¹ With up to 15x the performance compared to installed single-core servers2 and unique virtualization capabilities, servers based on the Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1200 Product Family help your SMB customers achieve more business results from every clock cycle, every IT man-hour, every watt, and every inch of their data center space. The lower TCO and groundbreaking performance of the Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 Product Family offers the opportunity to dramatically transform the competitiveness of your customers’ business and the economics of their data centers.

As the industry leader in Ethernet controllers and adapters, Intel combines a broad product portfolio and over 25 years experience delivering connectivity on which your SMB IT customers can depend. Advanced features such as Receive Side Coalescing, Intel® Ethernet Flow Director, and support for PCI Express* 2.0 help deliver new levels of 10GbE performance. Intel offers a complete line of industry-leading, single- and multi-port 10 gigabit, gigabit, and fast Ethernet controllers with integrated MAC and PHY, providing high performance, low power consumption, and a smaller footprint. Offering 10 Gbps, 1 Gbps, and 100 Mbps network connections, PCI Express* (PCIe), PCI, PCI-X, or LCI bus interfaces, 16, 32 or 64 bit architecture, Intel produces Ethernet controllers that enable faster, smaller, and simpler designs. Intel® Virtualization Technology³ for Connectivity (Intel® VT-c) delivers industry-leading I/O virtualization capabilities that provide flexibility, scalability and mobility. Advanced unified networking capabilities, including support for lossless Ethernet, iSCSI acceleration, NAS, and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) offloads help consolidate data center networks onto a single Ethernet fabric. Virtualization architectures are built on a virtualization layer called a Virtual Machine Monitor or Hypervisor that becomes the primary interface between a Virtual Machine and the physical hardware. While this always multiple VMs to share the same hardware it also creates additional overhead and can lower server performance due to higher CPU utilization and lower bandwidth. Virtualization vendors such as VMware and Microsoft have continued to make advances in the Virtual Machine Monitors but they cannot address the bottlenecks between a Virtual Machine and I/O hardware as the number of VMs increase alone. Working with other vendors and standards bodies, Intel has developed a suite of technologies that fall under the umbrella term, Intel® Virtualization Technology or Intel VT. When using server virtualization, a hot trend in Enterprise IT, hardware RAID has distinct advantages over software RAID. Server virtualization allows a single server to emulate several smaller (presumably older) servers. Software RAID would require a unique instance of the software RAID stack to be implemented on each virtual server. This could be costly, administratively heavy, and overly complex. Because hardware RAID utilizes a dedicated CPU and on-board cache, and connects to the physical server via the PCI Express bus, I/O requests from virtual servers are considerably less complex.

While return on investment is always a central issue in IT, for small and medium-sized businesses, it’s an even more crucial part of the sales conversation. With the following information, you can help your customers see the bottom-line advantages of investing in a real-server. This ROI calculator can be used to compare costs comparison in a highly virtualized solution, using multiple 1GbE connections versus a dual port 10GbE implementation. In the 1GbE solution we use in each server two Intel® Gigabit ET Quad Port Server Adapters, in addition to two LOM connections with a total system bandwidth of 10 Gb. This is then compared with a 10GbE solution, using one Intel® 10 Gigabit AF DA Dual Port Server Adapter and a total system bandwidth of 20Gb. These adapters are connected to a top-of-rack 10GbE switch using passive direct attach twinax coax cables.


Compare ROI Using the 10 Gigabit Ethernet Comparison Tool » Small to midsize-enterprise applications place a premium on performance, reliability, power consumption and space. Unlike traditional hard disk drives, Intel Solid-State Drives have no moving parts, resulting in a quiet, cool storage solution that also offers significantly higher performance than traditional server drives.

Replacing HDDs with SSDs can offer more than just performance advantages for enterprise data centers:

• Lower TCO for I/O-intensive applications. SSDs cost less per IOPS than HDDs, so replacing HDDs with SSDs can reduce storage TCO for I/O-intensive applications. Because fewer SSDs may be needed to deliver the required performance and capacity, IT organizations may not have to spend as much on related infrastructure such as cables, switches, and controllers.
• More performance in less space. A single SSD provides much higher IOPS than a single HDD; so for I/O-intensive applications, IT organizations can replace HDDs with fewer SSDs and still obtain higher I/O performance while using less of expensive data center space.
• Greener data centers. SSDs consume much less power than HDDs, so replacing HDDs with SSDs can reduce overall data center power consumption and cooling requirements.
• Higher system reliability. SSDs are inherently more reliable than HDDs due to the absence of moving parts. HDDs experience continual wear and tear due to disk rotation and head movement, which can lead to hard drive failure. In addition, fewer SSDs are required to deliver the same or better I/O performance; fewer drives also leads to greater overall reliability because there is less supporting infrastructure such as switches, controllers, and racks. Therefore hardware replacement and maintenance costs are reduced.

Developed based upon key learnings from Intel IT’s experience in justifying internal server refresh, this tool allows you to enter data about an existing server environment and evaluate the benefits of stepping up to the latest generation of Intel Xeon processor-based servers. Adjust variables, save and load analysis profiles and export custom reports in Microsoft Word* or Microsoft PowerPoint*.

Explore the Intel® Xeon® Processor-based Server Refresh Savings Estimator »

Reduce the engineering effort needed to deliver world-class server, workstation, and desktop solutions. The Intel® Enabled Solutions Acceleration Alliance (Intel® ESAA) gives you free access¹ to hundreds of pre-validated configuration guides (“recipes”) jointly developed by Intel and application vendors line VMware. As your one-stop resource for pre-validated hardware and software configurations, Intel ESAA helps you build relationships, reduce engineering costs, and compete with products based on the proven reliability of Intel® Server, Workstation, and Desktop Boards. The Intel ESAA program is a collaboration between Intel and independent hardware and software vendors that enables resellers, OEMs, and distributors to deliver pre-tested, high-quality solutions based on Intel® Server, Workstation, and Desktop Boards.
Benefits include:

• Faster time to market using "recipes" that provide step-by-step hardware and software configuration and installation instructions
• Reduced engineering costs with access to pre-validated and proven technologies
• Pass-through branded system certification from companies like VMware, Red Hat, Citrix, EMC, and Novell
• Alignment with Intel’s world-class processor technology leadership and pre- and post-sales support infrastructure

Download a Sample Intel® ESAA Recipe: VMware vSphere™ Installation Guide for Intel® Modular Server »

Learn More About Intel® ESAA to Access Current Solution Recipes »

Discounted VMware vSphere™ software licenses now available from Intel® Authorized Distributors when you purchase eligible Intel® Server Products. Contact your Intel representative for details. Get comprehensive resources to sell complete solutions instead of components and build customer loyalty by meeting complex requirements rapidly. Recipes from Intel ESAA provide detailed instructions to build and deploy solutions based on Intel® Server, Workstation, and Desktop Boards and give you insight into leading-edge hardware and software technologies. Intel ESAA helps you get to market early—and stay ahead of the competitive curve.