Intel Xeon UP/DP (Sossaman) processors
Introduction: March 2006
Overview
The Xeon brand refers to many families of Intel's x86 multiprocessing CPUs - for dual-processor (DP) and multi-processor (MP) configuration on a single motherboard targeted at non-consumer markets of server and workstation computers, and also at blade servers and embedded systems. The Xeon brand has been maintained over several generations of x86 and x86-64 processors. Older models added the Xeon moniker to the end of the name of their corresponding desktop processor, but more recent models used the name Xeon on its own. The Xeon CPUs generally have more cache than their desktop counterparts in addition to multiprocessing capabilities. Intel's (non-x86) IA-64 processors are called Itanium, not Xeon.
The Sossaman core
On 14 March 2006, Intel released a dual-core processor codenamed Sossaman and branded as Xeon LV (low-voltage). Subsequently a ULV (ultra-low-voltage) version was released. The Sossaman was a low-/ultra-low-power and double-processor capable CPU (like AMD Quad FX), based on the "Yonah" processor, for ultradense non-consumer environment (i.e. targeted at the blade-server and embedded markets), and it was rated at a thermal design power (TDP) of 31W (LV: 1.66 and 2GHz ) and 15W (ULV: 1.66GHz). As such, it supported most of the same features as earlier Xeons: Virtualization Technology, 667MT/s front side bus, and dual-core processing, but it did not support 64-bit operations, so it could not run 64-bit-only server software, such as Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, and therefore it was limited to only 16GB of memory. A planned successor, codenamed "Merom MP" was to be a drop-in upgrade to allow Sossaman-based servers to upgrade to 64-bit capability. However, this was abandoned in favour of low-voltage versions of the Woodcrest LV processor leaving the Sossaman at a dead-end with no planned upgrades.
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