Counting threads could be the new way of rating servers.(Enterprise Servers)

MSI, August, 2004

When looking to purchase new servers, IT professionals may have to stop thinking so much about clock speed and start paying attention to how many threads a machine handles. Threads are the software-based instructions that tell a central processor when and how to handle specific tasks.

The major server manufacturers--Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM--are developing systems in which chips can handle multiple threads simultaneously. The idea is to boost system performance by making the machine capable of processing more instructions in a shorter period of time. Industry analyst firm IDC, Framingham, Mass., calls this a logical approach. "Today, servers can be idle up to 75 percent of the time while processors wait for data from memory," an IDC...

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