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Intel introduces pay-as-you-go server chip service

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Intel introduces pay-as-you-go server chip service

Pricing details for the service are yet to be made public

Intel has launched its new 'On Demand' service for Sapphire Rapids Xeon CPUs which will charge customers to use certain accelerators and other capabilities that are already built into the server processors.

The launch of Intel's software-defined silicon (SDSi) service signals a major shift in the way consumers will purchase and use Intel chips going forward.

It is anticipated that Intel's 4th Generation Xeon Scalable Sapphire Rapids processors will be finally released sometime in early 2023. These processors will come with a variety of specialised accelerators and security features that not all users will need at all times.

Intel believes its new 'On Demand' service will enable it to cut the quantity of hardware it sends out to customers and will enable them upgrade their servers virtually on an as-needed, pay-as-you-go basis.

Dynamic Load Balancing (DLB), Software Guard Extensions, Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA), In-Memory Analytics Accelerator, and QuickAssist Technology (QAT) are among the technologies that Intel reportedly wants to make available on demand.

Very few Intel customers will need all of Intel's On Demand technologies simultaneously, the company believes, as they address fundamentally different types of workloads. However, as companies continue to expand their data centres or pivot to new activities, they may need some at a certain stage. This is where the On Demand capability will come into play.

Pricing information for Intel's 'On Demand' service has not been made public at this time. Instead, the company has changed its "Intel On Demand" webpage, where it now displays Lenovo as a provider of both its consumption and activation models. Companies like HPE and Supermicro will concentrate their efforts on a single model type only.

While the activation model charges a one-time fee to access extra features, the consumption model promises to "dynamically align" infrastructure and demand.

As well as Lenovo and HPE, H3C, Inspur, Supermicro, PhoenixNAP and Variscale are also part of the On Demand programme.

For now, Intel's On Demand programme is only available for server hardware, and it is unlikely that end users will see these products available for purchase on the market.

AMD does not offer any such 'On Demand' option with its EPYC Genoa 9004 CPU line-up and provides consumers access to the entire feature set right out of the box.

Customers may pay less with Intel's new 'On Demand' service; asking them to pay more for features already built into the processor could hurt Intel - something the company's Data Centre division will wish to avoid as hard times hit the tech industry.

Intel introduces pay-as-you-go server chip service

Pricing details for the service are yet to be made public

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