Itanium: Not dead yet

Intel’s x86 processor architecture may have taken the server world by storm, but it’s not the only option available. It’s not even the only one from Intel.

The much-maligned Itanium, Intel’s original 64-bit architecture, keeps soldiering on despite frequent reports of its impending demise. In fact, in late September a consortium of hardware and software vendors announced the Itanium Solutions Alliance, a new industry organization dedicated to extending the chip’s reach in the enterprise.

The Alliance’s enthusiasm, however, doesn’t impress Patrick Patla, director of server product marketing at Intel competitor AMD. “There’s always a big group-hug right before the ship goes down,” he says. “Hey, trust me. I love Itanium being in market. There’s nothing that suits me better than not spending lots of money on Itanium, to keep stealing share where it really matters: in the volume space.”

Indeed, Intel has been widely criticized for betting on Itanium when it could have been pursuing 64-bit x86 designs, as AMD has. A completely different architecture from its more mainstream cousin, Itanium requires developers to learn new skills and build Itanium-specific versions of their software. Only a small number of ISVs has taken the bait, so the application portfolio for Itanium-based servers is likely to remain static.

Without admitting defeat, Intel has since followed AMD’s lead with its x86-based EM64T (Extended Memory 64 Technology) designs. But Shannon Poulin, enterprise marketing director at Intel, claims the chipmaker’s support for Itanium isn’t wavering. On the contrary, he says, Itanium gives customers a valuable alternative to the vendor lock-in inherent in RISC architectures.

“What we’re seeing mostly are transition strategies,” Poulin explains. “Companies are happy to move away from proprietary Unix or RISC platforms to an open architecture like Itanium, where they’re able to run Windows or even Linux.”

At the same time, Poulin rejects the idea that Itanium’s fate is to become a niche component for the high end. Rather, he says, each architecture is best-suited to different kinds of applications. And according to Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at microprocessor consultancy Insight64, Intel’s faith in the long-term success of Itanium is genuine.

“Intel’s the kind of organization that will believe it until the day they stop believing it,” Brookwood says. “Far be it from me to anticipate when or if that day will come.”