Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments. Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions. Intel® 64 Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory. Cache CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache. Intel® AES New Instructions Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption. Idle States Idle States (C-states) are used to save power when the processor is idle. C0 is the operational state, meaning that the CPU is doing useful work. C1 is the first idle state, C2 the second, and so on, where more power saving actions are taken for numerically higher C-states. Intel® Turbo Boost Technology Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor’s frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t. Max Turbo Frequency Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second. Execute Disable Bit Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network. Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner. Instruction Set An instruction set refers to the basic set of commands and instructions that a microprocessor understands and can carry out. The value shown represents which Intel’s instruction set this processor is compatible with. Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT) Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management. Intel® Optane™ Memory Supported Intel® Optane™ memory is a revolutionary new class of non-volatile memory that sits in between system memory and storage to accelerate system performance and responsiveness. When combined with the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Driver, it seamlessly manages multiple tiers of storage while presenting one virtual drive to the OS, ensuring that data frequently used resides on the fastest tier of storage. Intel® Optane™ memory requires specific hardware and software configuration. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery. Secure Key Intel® Secure Key consists of a digital random number generator that creates truly random numbers to strengthen encryption algorithms. Intel® Speed Shift Technology Intel® Speed Shift Technology uses hardware-controlled P-states to deliver dramatically quicker responsiveness with single-threaded, transient (short duration) workloads, such as web browsing, by allowing the processor to more quickly select its best operating frequency and voltage for optimal performance and power efficiency. Intel® Deep Learning Boost (Intel® DL Boost) A new set of embedded processor technologies designed to accelerate AI deep learning use cases. It extends Intel AVX-512 with a new Vector Neural Network Instruction (VNNI) that significantly increases deep learning inference performance over previous generations. Instruction Set Extensions Instruction Set Extensions are additional instructions which can increase performance when the same operations are performed on multiple data objects. These can include SSE (Streaming SIMD Extensions) and AVX (Advanced Vector Extensions). Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 identifies the best performing core(s) on a processor and provides increased performance on those cores through increasing frequency as needed by taking advantage of power and thermal headroom. Thermal Monitoring Technologies Thermal Monitoring Technologies protect the processor package and the system from thermal failure through several thermal management features. An on-die Digital Thermal Sensor (DTS) detects the core’s temperature, and the thermal management features reduce package power consumption and thereby temperature when required in order to remain within normal operating limits. Intel® Volume Management Device (VMD) Intel® Volume Management Device (VMD) provides a common, robust method of hot plug and LED management for NVMe-based solid state drives. Intel® Gaussian & Neural Accelerator Intel® Gaussian & Neural Accelerator (GNA) is an ultra-low power accelerator block designed to run audio and speed-centric AI workloads. Intel® GNA is designed to run audio based neural networks at ultra-low power, while simultaneously relieving the CPU of this workload. Mode-based Execute Control (MBE) Mode-based Execute Control can more reliably verify and enforce the integrity of kernel level code. Intel® Boot Guard Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks. Intel® Control-Flow Enforcement Technology CET – Intel Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET) helps protect against the misuse of legitimate code snippets through return-oriented programming (ROP) control-flow hijacking attacks.