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View Full Version : OK Q's Intel/AMD Itanium/Opteron

Chromedragon
10-30-2003, 02:18 PM
Ok haveing a difference of opinion with a marketing type at work and need a bit of clarification. I will try and keep this simple so i dont confuse my self.

Are there 2 seperate 64 bit os's being shiped from MS. One for Itanium and one for the Opteron/Athlon or is the 2003 64 bit revision all the same code base and will run on either chip?

I have my mkting types lumping Opteron in the same bucket as all the intel 32 bit servers and holding Itaium as a seperate 64 bit world.

a bit of clarification would go a long way...

oh a be gentel please...
xwred1
10-30-2003, 07:08 PM
It is two entirely different operating systems.

Windows for IA64 has been shipping for a while, since Win2k, even. Windows for amd64 is still in beta/whatever.

IA64 and AMD64 aren't even binary compatible. Two totally different things.

Probably your marketing types should lump the Opteron in both the low-end Itanium bucket and the Xeon bucket, depending on what the Opteron will be used for. If a customer is only going to run 32-bit stuff anyways, then they could have gotten a Xeon, and the performance there is comparable to a Xeon.
Bullfrog
10-31-2003, 02:29 PM
Originally posted by xwred1
It is two entirely different operating systems.

Windows for IA64 has been shipping for a while, since Win2k, even. Windows for amd64 is still in beta/whatever.

IA64 and AMD64 aren't even binary compatible. Two totally different things.

Probably your marketing types should lump the Opteron in both the low-end Itanium bucket and the Xeon bucket, depending on what the Opteron will be used for. If a customer is only going to run 32-bit stuff anyways, then they could have gotten a Xeon, and the performance there is comparable to a Xeon.

Actually Microsoft has mixed different binary's on server OS's for different CPUs on a single OS package. Binary compatability isn't a big thing...it's how Microsoft decides to market the product. So they very well could release a single 64bit package for Windows Server 2003 that has both binaries on it. It saves them cost from having to ship different versions depending on the CPU. We shall see....
xwred1
10-31-2003, 05:40 PM
Well maybe they could ship both on the same cd... you are running a different set of binaries though. The feature sets are different.

I would think making one release of both operating systems would make the install media a bit more demanding... seems like they aim to keep the OS on one disk.

--I suppose it saves them customer confusion too. I've seen lots of people online think that Windows XP-64 was for amd64 when it was really for Itaniums.
Bullfrog
10-31-2003, 06:47 PM
They can get it to fit on a single CD, that isn't an issue. The trick would be having a good boot-loader which keeps the install clean and simple. You have to give to MS, they have gotten an install about as easy as you can make it.

Time will tell how the whole 64bit windows stuff shakes out.
xwred1
10-31-2003, 10:24 PM
How do they fit it all on one cd? A single copy of Windows seems to eat a whole disk. Most of that seems to be platform-specific stuff, i.e. not wavs and wallpapers.

I remember back with NT4, they had four archs on the cd, but Winxp and Win2k3 are ALOT fatter than NT4.

I guess you actually have one of these cds?




Meh, its all about 64bit Linux anyways. Linux was ready for the Hammer before you can even buy one. No tooth-gnashing about lack of 64bit software.
Bullfrog
11-02-2003, 12:55 PM
Microsoft has been craming stuff on CD's for a long time. They can fit a little over 1gig on a standard CD-R. They started it with the MSDN kits to keep the number of CD's down. So getting it all to fit shouldn't that big of a deal.
xwred1
11-02-2003, 05:14 PM
How much did they stuff onto the i386 win2k3 cd?
Bullfrog
11-02-2003, 06:21 PM
All 3 editions plus tools and documentation.
xwred1
11-02-2003, 07:13 PM
Fitting all 3 editions isn't that hard... the only difference between them is a few utilities and some different limits. 95% of the files copied are probably the same.

Just the same, how big is it all? 1000mb?
xwred1
11-02-2003, 07:25 PM
Well hey, you've got an Opteron running amd64 Win2k3 don't you? What is the driver situation like? Aren't there *alot* less drivers?
Bullfrog
11-02-2003, 08:01 PM
The last 2 builds that we have gotten from Microsoft have a LOT more driver support. A lot of the driver support is actually coming from the A64 development for XP. The drivers are getting there and should be pretty good by release.
xwred1
11-02-2003, 08:54 PM
Most of the drivers that come with a given Windows release come from the vendors don't they? You know if MS is out asking people to port their drivers?