The Future Data Center: Multi-Core Processors

Written by: W. David Schwaderer

Overview

Today's IT departments face a multitude of challenges and impending changes. Some of these involve:

• New multi-core processor offerings
• Emerging processor virtualization technologies
• New storage virtualization technologies
• Continually morphing security threats
• Open source programming offerings
• Utility (Grid) computing
• Increasing power and energy costs
• External Corporate Social Responsibility Expectations

This series provides a brief overview of many IT considerations for these transitions that IT professionals may find useful in inevitable senior management discussions.

Birth of the Microprocessor

On Nov. 15, 1971, Intel ® Corp. announced a new integrated circuit, the Intel 4004 – now generally considered the world’s first general purpose microprocessor. The significance of this announcement was widely overlooked at the time since, in part, it was largely regarded as a natural consequence of Moore’s Law, the then-annual doubling of integrated circuit transistors. Microprocessors were certainly going to happen someday, just when, no one seemed to know.

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