Intel Ultra Path Interconnect

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Intel Ultra Path Interconnect

Intel Ultra Path Interconnect (UPI) is a high-speed, point-to-point interconnect technology that enables Intel Xeon Scalable processors to communicate directly with each other at speeds of up to 10.4 GT/s, providing low latency and high bandwidth for data-intensive workloads.

What does Intel Ultra Path Interconnect mean?

Intel Ultra Path Interconnect (UPI) is a high-speed interconnect technology developed by Intel for use in multi-processor servers and workstations. It provides a low-latency, high-bandwidth connection between multiple processors, enabling them to communicate and Share data efficiently. UPI is based on the Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) technology, which was introduced in 2008. However, UPI offers several improvements over QPI, including higher speeds, lower latency, and support for more processors.

UPI is a Point-to-point interconnect, meaning that each processor is directly connected to every other processor in the system. This topology provides the lowest possible latency and the highest possible bandwidth. UPI uses a packet-based protocol to transfer data between processors. The packets are small and efficient, which helps to minimize latency. UPI also supports a variety of flow control mechanisms, which help to ensure that data is transferred reliably and without errors.

Applications

UPI is used in a variety of applications, including:

  • Multi-processor servers: UPI is used to connect multiple processors in multi-processor servers. This enables the processors to share data and resources, which can improve performance and scalability.
  • Workstations: UPI is used to connect multiple processors in workstations. This can improve performance for applications that require a lot of Processing power, such as video editing and 3D rendering.
  • Supercomputers: UPI is used to connect multiple processors in supercomputers. This enables the supercomputers to achieve extremely high performance levels.

UPI is an important technology in today’s data center. It provides the high-speed, low-latency connectivity that is needed for multi-processor servers and workstations. UPI is also helping to power the world’s most Powerful supercomputers.

History

Intel Ultra Path Interconnect was first introduced in 2012. It was initially used in the Intel Xeon E5-2600 v2 processors. UPI has since been adopted by a wide range of Intel processors, including the Xeon E5-4600 v4, E7-8800 v4, and E7-4800 v4 processors.

UPI is a constantly evolving technology. Intel is continually adding new features and improvements to UPI. In 2017, Intel introduced UPI 2.0, which offers several improvements over UPI 1.0, including higher speeds, lower latency, and support for more processors.

UPI is expected to continue to play an important role in the future of computing. As the demand for multi-processor systems continues to grow, UPI will become increasingly important for providing the high-speed, low-latency connectivity that is needed for these systems.