POWER7 multi-core processor design

POWER series of processors are the building block for IBM's p-Series servers. With its leading edge microarchitecture, technology and efficient implementation, POWER processors are the dominating RISC processor technology today. POWER processors form the building block for IBM's p-Series servers, which have the largest UNIX marketshare. Over the last 20 years, POWER processors have incorporated many technological innovations, often leading the industry with its new technologies.

In this talk, we will describe many key architectural, micro-architectural, RAS and power-management features of the POWER7 core for the first time. POWER7 is IBM's first 8-core processor chip, with each core capable of 4-way SMT, fabricated in IBM's 45nm SOI technology with 11 levels of metal. Details of the processor core will be discussed, along with insights, technical issues and challenges related to designing high performance, power-efficient multi-core chips for building balanced servers.