Intel has just revealed some more details about a technology called SDSi (software defined silicon capabilities). The first application will be in its next generation of server processors. The Xeon Sapphire Rapids, will thus pave the way for the Intel On Demand functionality . So What is Intel On Demand ?
Well, it’s a solution that aims to make you pay for an additional service to activate the gas pedals built into these future server CPUs…Yes yes, you’re not dreaming!
So are we going to get to processors where we get charged to unlock additional features?
For the moment this technology is reserved for the server world in general and more particularly for the Linux environment. The next Xeon Sapphire Rapids will be delivered with a large number of gas pedals such as AMX, DLB, IAA… which depending on the application domain, can have a significant impact on the performance of a wide variety of applications. With Intel On Demand, depending on the needs of your applications and the tasks handled by your server, you will have to pay to enable features.
This is obviously a very controversial development in the way a processor’s price is constructed. We could try to explain it in a very simple way by mentioning the patents or certain royalties that Intel would have to pay when using certain gas pedals or instruction sets. The system could thus benefit both parties by balancing itself according to the uses… A theoretical explanation that we imagine without really believing it ourselves.
The drivers allowing to activate the Intel On Demand could be integrated to Linux as soon as this December. The Xeon Sapphire Rapids should arrive a little later in 2023.
*front page thumbnail from a Wccftech article
