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Guide to identifying your processor family

This guide is intended to help you identify the major processor families and their corresponding Processor Value Units (PVUs) per processor core. It helps clarify market inconsistencies across the major server brands when defining a "processor" or "N-Way".

Review the definitions and processor identification steps below and use the links to the right to view Processor Family Identification Support tables by Server Brand.

Use the links below to learn more



Definitions
Processor Family identification steps


Definitions
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IBM™ Software Group defines a processor as a core

  • IBM licenses Processor Value Units per processor core
  • Hardware vendors differ when defining the terms Processor and N-Way.

Definitions Table
Processor Family identification steps
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Depending on the level of information known, there are two alternate ways to identify the number of PVUs per Core:

  1. Method 1: Processor Vendor and Brand, and Processor Type are known. [For example: IBM® POWER5™ Dual-core: 100 PVUs per core.] Use the Processor Value Units per Core Table.
  2. Method 2: Processor Vendor and Brand, and Processor Type are not known. However, server information is known.
  • For example: IBM® System x 3500: Intel® Xeon® Dual-Core at 50 PVUs per Core

Identification Steps Table
PVU tables: by Server Brand and Type

IBM

Dell

Fujitsu

HP

Sun


Essentials

Processor Value Unit Licensing for Distributed SW

Processor Value Unit calculator

Processor Value Unit terminology