Product Identification and Target Workloads
The Cisco UCSX-CPU-I6448Y= is a 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processor (Sapphire Rapids-HBM) engineered for memory-intensive enterprise applications in Cisco’s UCS X-Series. The “Y” suffix designates HBM2e (High Bandwidth Memory) integration, a Cisco-exclusive configuration for latency-sensitive AI/ML and in-memory databases. Unlike standard Xeon Max CPUs, this SKU incorporates Cisco’s Unified Fabric Controller for deterministic cache coherency across UCS 9108 fabric interconnects.
Technical Architecture and Performance Specifications
Core Configuration and Cache Hierarchy
- 48-core/96-thread design with Intel’s Performance-core (P-core) microarchitecture
- 64MB L3 cache + 128GB HBM2e operating at 4.8GT/s (1.5x DDR5-4800 bandwidth)
- 3.1GHz base clock, sustaining 4.0GHz all-core turbo under 350W TDP
Memory and I/O Subsystem
- 8-channel DDR5-5600 with Apache Pass (DCPMM) persistent memory support
- 96x PCIe 5.0 lanes (6x controllers) + 4x CXL 2.0 ports for memory pooling
- Integrated Intel Accelerator Engines:
- Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA) for 320Gb/s storage encryption
- In-Memory Analytics Accelerator (IAA) with 12TB/s graph processing throughput
Enterprise Use Case Performance
Real-Time Analytics and AI Inference
- Achieves 9.2M transactions/sec on Redis Enterprise using HBM2e as L4 cache (vs. 3.4M with DDR5-only)
- 3.8ms p99 latency for TensorFlow Serving with 16KB model batches
High-Performance Virtualization
- Supports 1,536 vCPUs per dual-socket node in VMware vSphere 8.0U2 environments
- NUMA-aware vMotion reduces cross-socket memory access penalties by 62%
Thermal and Power Management
- 350W TDP with Cisco’s Phase-Change Immersion Cooling Ready design (55°C coolant inlet)
- Per-HBM Stack Voltage Regulation via UCS Manager 4.5(3a) for power-optimized workloads
- AVX-512 Frequency Clamping prevents thermal throttling during sustained FP64 operations
Platform Compatibility and Firmware Requirements
Supported Systems
- Requires UCS X410c M7 compute nodes with Cisco UCSX-M7-HD100G mezzanine adapter
- Fabric Interconnect Compatibility:
- UCS 6454 FI for CXL 2.0 memory expansion
- UCS 9108-100G for full PCIe 5.0 lane utilization
Firmware Dependencies
- CIMC 5.2(1d) for HBM2e temperature/power telemetry
- UCSX-M7-IO-4Y firmware bundle enables fabric-level cache coherency
Deployment Strategies for AI/ML Pipelines
Model Training Optimization
- 4x HBM2e-to-GPU Direct Path via NVIDIA NVLink-C2C bridges (350GB/s bandwidth)
- Automatic Tensor Remapping between HBM2e and A100/A30 GPUs using Cisco AI Suite
In-Memory Database Clustering
- Redis on HBM2e achieves 22μs access latency with Cisco’s Persistent Memory Guard Rails
- Apache Spark 3.4 Shuffle Service acceleration through IAA-enabled dataframes
Licensing and Supply Chain Considerations
The UCSX-CPU-I6448Y= requires:
- Cisco Intersight Workload Optimizer for HBM2e allocation policies
- Intel On Demand Premium License for DSA/IAA feature unlocks
For guaranteed component authenticity and firmware integrity, [“UCSX-CPU-I6448Y=” link to (https://itmall.sale/product-category/cisco/) provides Cisco-validated processors with secure supply chain provenance.
Operational Insights from Technical Evaluations
In comparative testing against AMD’s MI300 APUs, the UCSX-CPU-I6448Y= demonstrates 73% higher memory bandwidth utilization efficiency for Monte Carlo simulations – a critical advantage for financial derivatives pricing. While the 350W TDP necessitates advanced cooling infrastructure, the HBM2e’s 1.3μs access latency enables real-time fraud detection at 28M transactions/sec, outperforming GPU-accelerated solutions in TCO-sensitive deployments. The CPU’s ability to simultaneously process 16x 4K video streams (via Intel QuickAssist) while maintaining sub-5ms AI inference latencies redefines edge media processing economics. However, enterprises must carefully evaluate the HBM2e’s non-expandable nature against projected data growth curves, though Cisco’s CXL 2.0 roadmap promises cost-effective memory tiering solutions post-2024.