Guide to identifying your Processor Technology

This guide is intended to help you identify the major Processor Technologies and their corresponding Processor Value Units (PVUs) per processor core. It helps clarify market inconsistencies across the major server brands when defining a "processor" or "N-Way".

Review the definitions and processor identification steps below and use the links to the right to view a list of Processor Technologies by Server Brand.

Learn more about

• Definitions
• Processor Technology identification steps
• Example

Definitions

IBM™ Software Group defines a processor as a core

• IBM licenses Processor Value Units per processor core
• Hardware vendors differ when defining the terms Processor and N-Way.

Server Vendor	Define Processor as	Define N-Way as
IBM System p System i	Core	Number of Cores
IBM BladeCenter - POWER	Core	Number of Cores
IBM BladeCenter - x86, Cell	Chip	Number of Chips
IBM System x	Chip	Number of Chips
Dell	Chip	Number of Chips
Fujitsu	Chip	Number of Chips
HP	Chip	Number of Chips
Oracle / Sun	Chip	Number of Chips

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Processor Technology identification steps

Depending on the level of information known, there are two alternate ways to identify the number of PVUs per Core:

1. Method 1: Processor Vendor, Brand, Type and if applicable, Processor Model Number are known. [For example: IBM® POWER5™ Dual-core: 100 PVUs per core.] Use the Processor Value Units per Core Table.
2. Method 2: Processor Vendor, Brand, Type and if applicable, Processor Model Number are not known. However, server information is known.

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For example

IBM® System x 3500: Intel® Xeon® Quad-Core with Processor Model Number in the range 5000 to 5499 at 50 PVUs per Core

Excerpt from System x (xSeries)

Server	Processor Information
Model Number	Processor Vendor / Brand	Processor Type	Processor Model Number *	PVUs per Core**
230R	AMD Opteron	DC/QC	All existing	50
3105	AMD Opteron/Athlon	SC/DC	All Existing	100/50
3200	Intel Xeon	DC/QC	3000 to 3499	50
3200 M2	Intel Xeon	DC/QC	3000 to 3499	50
3250	Intel Pentium/ Xeon	SC/DC	All Existing	100/50
3250 M2	Intel Xeon	DC/QC	3000 to 3499	50
3350	Intel Xeon	DC/QC	3000 to 3499	50
3400	Intel Xeon	DC/QC	5000 to 5499	50
3400 M2	Intel Xeon	DC/QC	5500 to 5599	70
3450	Intel Xeon	DC/QC	5000 to 5499	50
3455	AMD Opteron	DC/QC	All Existing	50
3500	Intel Xeon	DC/QC	5000 to 5499	50
3500 M2	Intel Xeon	DC/QC	5500 to 5599	70
SC: Single-Core, DC: Dual-Core, QC: Quad-Core, HC: Hexa-Core, OC: Octi-Core
*Numbers may be preceded by letters: for example: X5570, refers to 5570 and is part of the 5500 to 5599 series.
**The PVU per core requirements for Intel based servers in the above table are based on the processor model numbers, and are provided for your convenience. Errors or omissions in the table are unintentional. Customers remain responsible to be in compliance with the required level of authorized use for each program.

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