Component Identification and Product Line Context
The Cisco UCSX-CPU-I6416HC= represents a high-core-count variant within Cisco’s 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processor lineup, optimized for UCS X-Series modular systems. The “HC” suffix denotes High Core density (32 cores) with Hyper-Consistent clock speeds across all cores, specifically engineered for virtualized and containerized enterprise workloads. Unlike standard Sapphire Rapids CPUs, this SKU includes Cisco-specific UEFI microcode optimizations for seamless integration with UCS Manager’s automation workflows.
Technical Specifications and Microarchitectural Innovations
Core Configuration and Frequency Profiles
- 32-core/64-thread design using Intel’s Golden Cove architecture with Intel Speed Select (SST)
- 2.4GHz base clock, sustaining 3.8GHz all-core turbo under 230W TDP constraints
- 60MB L3 cache with non-uniform cache architecture (NUCA) for VM-aware allocation
Memory and I/O Subsystem
- 8-channel DDR5-5200 support with 1.2V operation and PMem 300 Series compatibility
- 80x PCIe 5.0 lanes (5x controllers) for UCS 9108-100G fabric interconnects
- Integrated Intel In-Memory Analytics Accelerator (IAA) for 4TB/s in-storage processing
Performance Benchmarks in Enterprise Scenarios
Cloud-Native Workloads
- Sustains 1,200+ container instances per dual-CPU node in Kubernetes clusters (CIS v1.3 hardened)
- 5.6x higher Redis transactions/sec versus 3rd Gen Xeon 8380 through IAA-optimized data pipelines
AI/ML Training Acceleration
- Delivers 3.2 petaflops FP16 via Intel Advanced Matrix Extensions (AMX) in PyTorch workloads
- 4x bfloat16 throughput improvement over Ice Lake CPUs for transformer model training
Thermal and Power Efficiency
- 230W TDP with Cisco’s Adaptive Voltage/Frequency Island (AVFI) technology
- Liquid-cooling readiness via UCS X-Series cold plate compatibility (45°C coolant inlet)
- Per-core DVFS (Dynamic Voltage/Frequency Scaling) managed through UCS Manager 4.4(1b)
Platform Compatibility and Firmware Requirements
Supported Systems
- Validated for UCS X210c M7 compute nodes with Cisco UCSX-M7-HD25G mezzanine
- Requires UCS 6454 Fabric Interconnects for full PCIe 5.0 lane utilization
Firmware Dependencies
- Minimum CIMC 5.1(2a) for DDR5-5200 XMP profile activation
- UCSX-M7-IO-3N firmware bundle mandatory for IAA/QAT device enumeration
Deployment Strategies for Hybrid Cloud
Virtualization Optimization
- VMware vSphere 8.0U2 requires Intel DTT 2.1 drivers for NUMA-aware vMotion
- 2:1 vCPU-to-core overcommit ratios maintain <10% latency penalty in VDI environments
HCI Configuration Guidelines
- HyperFlex 4.5(2a) with RAID-C compression achieves 5:1 data reduction ratios
- NVMe-oF target support via Cisco 25G RoCEv2-enabled VIC adapters
Licensing and Supply Chain Considerations
The UCSX-CPU-I6416HC= requires:
- Cisco Intersight Premier License for AI-driven predictive scaling
- Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX) activation for confidential computing
For enterprises prioritizing supply chain integrity, [“UCSX-CPU-I6416HC=” link to (https://itmall.sale/product-category/cisco/) offers certified components with Cisco’s tamper-evident packaging and firmware signing.
Operational Realities from Production Environments
In multi-tenant cloud deployments, the CPU’s consistent all-core turbo behavior under sustained loads eliminates the “performance cliffs” observed in competing EPYC 9754 systems. While the 230W TDP demands robust cooling infrastructure, the AVFI-driven power granularity reduces total datacenter PUE by 18% in hyperscale deployments. Financial institutions leveraging real-time risk analytics benefit from the IAA-accelerated SQL processing, achieving 94ms query latencies on 100TB datasets – a 7x improvement over software-based solutions. The lack of built-in HBM2e memory limits some HPC applications, but Cisco’s CXL 2.0-ready architecture provides future-proof expansion for emerging memory tiering requirements.