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IBM muddies dual-core pricing waters

Martin LaMonica CNET News.com

Published: 22 Apr 2005 09:10 BST

IBM is a dualist when it comes to software licensing and dual-core processors.

The same week that Intel and AMD introduced dual-core processors, IBM said that it will price its server software as if these x86 dual-core chips were a single processor. Until now, IBM has said that a dual-core processor would count as two CPUs when calculating the cost of server software.

For IBM's own dual-core processors for servers, however, the company will continue to charge for software as if each core were a separate processor. That's because IBM servers based on its dual-core Power5 processor are more sophisticated and customers have optimised their software to take full advantage of the Power5, an IBM representative said Thursday.

"Technically our definition remains the same — two cores [are] two processors — but we’re coming at it with a performance-based approach," the representative said. "With the x86, while customers get a boost in power, for right now the advances are incremental, and we will license accordingly."

And while the dual-core processors from Intel and AMD are coming out now, IBM's dual-core Power5 is a third-generation chip that has been out for a few years.

The change in IBM's licensing practices demonstrates the variety of licensing practices among companies when it comes to multicore processors.

Chip manufacturers endorse the idea that multicore processors are just the latest advance in chip technology and that licensing practices should not change.

Back-end server software, such as databases, is often priced on a per-CPU basis, which means that customers could end up paying significantly more in software licenses for servers with dual-core processors.

Microsoft weighed in on the debate last year, saying that a dual-core processor will count as a single chip for its server software products. Oracle, meanwhile, says that customers need to pay for two licenses for server software that runs on a dual-core processor.

IBM's Power5 is used for high-end servers. For lower-end servers, it also has a Power processor line optimised for running Linux that is called OpenPower. Server software for dual-core OpenPower processors will be priced as if they were a single processor.