The Itanium already features built in 32-bit software support, but this is regarded as woefully under-powered, and Intel has barely mentioned this feature. Intel’s position has always been that if customers want 32-bit computing support they should look to its IA-32 range.
But if Intel’s latest efforts go to plan, Microsoft and Linux operating systems running on Itanium will feature an IA-32 Execution Layer from the second half of this year.
An Intel spokeswoman said the IA-32 Execution Layer would boost the performance of 32-bit apps on Itanium by 10% to 100%. The vendor has described the likely performance as equivalent to a 1.5GHz Intel Xeon, depending on the application. Intel’s top speed Xeon is currently 3GHz.
Intel’s spokeswoman said the company was at the validation stage with the technology, and it was scheduled to debut in the second half of this year. This will coincide with the launch of Madison, the third generation of Itanium. However, the technology could be available for previous generations of Itanium, though it will be up to the operating system vendors whether they qualify their products with the earlier chips.
Theoretically, the inclusion of the Execution Layer could make moving to the Itanium less of a wrench for customers with a large investment in 32-bit software. That is precisely the argument that Advanced Micro Devices has made for its Opteron line, launched on Tuesday. Intel has consistently rubbished the AMD strategy, but at the same time has yet to see a dramatic take up of Itanium-based machines. AMD has also priced its initial Opterons on a par with the 32-bit Xeon line, potentially offering a massive price advantage over the scarily expensive Itaniums.
Yesterday, Intel’s spokeswoman insisted the move was not a direction shift or a change from the past. In Intel’s view, Itanium has always offered native support for 32-bit computing. This [execution layer] could be equated to emulation support, the spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman confirmed that Intel had been working on the execution layer strategy for at least a year, meaning that it was initiated well after the first Itaniums debuted, and after AMD outline its strategy to offer 32-bit support alongside 64-bit.
There have been rumors that Intel would be forced to offer a combination of 64-bit and 32-bit support. Last year it emerged that the company was working on 64-bit extensions to its 32-bit architecture. That project, code-named Yamhill, is separate from the execution layer strategy. Intel has never confirmed the existence of Yamhill, though OEMs have.
Source: Computerwire
