Intel CEO Craig Barrett Challenges Developers To Create A Modular Internet

Urges the Industry to Cooperate at a New Level to Make Open Internet Solutions Easier for Customers to Use

INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM CONFERENCE, SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 22, 2000 - Intel Corporation president and CEO Craig Barrett today said the industry must cooperate to create a "modular Internet" in which customers can easily build innovative Internet solutions from a broad selection of standards-based computer, networking and software products.

In his opening address to 5,000 attendees here at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), Barrett noted that business-to-business e-Commerce is projected to grow from $400 billion in 2000 to over $7 trillion** in 2004. "Our opportunity and challenge is to make it easier for customers to build modular Internet solutions using our products," Barrett said. "The horizontal computing industry is delivering more performance and innovation far more economically than any single, vertically integrated company. The modular Internet will be created as we work together as one to deliver solutions."

To illustrate, Barrett demonstrated a three-tiered e-Business computing environment based entirely on high-volume building blocks and capable of handling 15,000 simultaneous users. The solution featured interoperable, Intel-based servers from Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and IBM, along with Intel® NetStructure™ appliances for server load-balancing in the e-Business data center.

Barrett observed that over the next several years, the Internet will be populated by a billion PCs and a billion wireless devices, and that developers need to plan for the seamless integration of these complementary devices within the modular Internet. Barrett also highlighted the potential of peer-to-peer technology, stating that developers can help businesses use peer-to-peer to make dramatic gains in the use of networked enterprise resources.

New Internet Server Technology
Albert Yu, senior vice president and general manager of the Intel Architecture Group, rounded out the opening remarks at IDF by demonstrating a range of Intel technologies designed to power a new generation of Internet clients and servers.

Yu discussed the industry momentum behind Intel's forthcoming Itanium™ processor, based on an advanced technology called EPIC that goes beyond today's RISC and CISC microprocessor architectures. Yu said that Intel has shipped more than 6,000 prototype systems and more than 18,000 Itanium processors to enable system and software design completion. Itanium processor-based pilot systems are scheduled to be deployed to information technology (IT) end users in the fourth quarter.

Yu also introduced the industry's first server processor running at 1 GHz. Front-end servers based on such high-speed Pentium® III Xeon™ processors enable e-Businesses to economically "scale out," adding modular servers to easily manage growing e-Business workloads.

Separately, Intel announced its InfiniBand* product plans, including three new silicon products due in 2001. The new products are being designed to serve at the heart of the InfiniBand architecture, a new server input-output (I/O) technology that will speed and simplify server-to-server connections and links to storage and networking devices.

Intel Technology for Internet Clients
Yu also demonstrated the Pentium 4 microprocessor, designed to power emerging "visual Internet" software and scheduled for introduction in the fourth quarter. The Pentium 4 processor is powered by the new, 32-bit Intel® NetBurst® micro-architecture, comprised of many innovative, performance-enhancing technologies.

For example, Hyper Pipelined Technology will allow the Pentium 4 processor to be introduced at speeds of at least 1.4 GHz, with plenty of frequency headroom for future Internet applications. To illustrate, Yu performed a technology demonstration of an air-cooled Pentium 4 processor-based system running at 2 GHz. A new Rapid Execution Engine will execute frequently used instructions at twice the clock speed of the rest of the microprocessor for higher performance. A new, 400 MHz system bus will allow the Pentium 4 processor to input and output data three times faster than the Pentium III processor to enable even richer Internet audio, video and 3D.

Harnessing Internet Clients and Servers with Peer-to-Peer Technology
Barrett also discussed peer-to-peer computing, describing it as a technology with the potential to deliver exponential increases in the utility of networked computers. Barrett invited Andrew Grimshaw, founder and president of Applied MetaComputing, to explain how peer-to-peer technology is being used at The Boeing Company to combine the power of distributed systems and speed the simulation of advanced aircraft designs. "Working as one, the industry can help businesses harness the promise of peer-to-peer technology to dramatically increase the capabilities of their globally distributed computing resources," Barrett said.

About IDF
The Intel Developer Forum Conference is Intel's premier technical forum comprising nearly 250 sessions and hands-on labs and more than 100 demonstrations of cutting-edge products and technologies. IDF attracts thousands of hardware and software developers worldwide. Now in its third year, the semi-annual conference provides hardware OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), IHVs (independent hardware vendors), and ISVs (independent software vendors) with in-depth information on Intel technologies and initiatives. More information on the Intel Developer Forum can be found at http://developer.intel.com/idf. Updated information is available between Intel Developer Forums by subscribing to the Intel Developer Update Magazine at http://developer.intel.com/update/.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.