UCSX-CPU-I5420+C= Processor: Technical Architecture, Performance Optimization, and Cisco UCS Integration

Technical Specifications & Cisco-Specific Engineering

The ​​UCSX-CPU-I5420+C=​​ is a Cisco-customized 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processor (Sapphire Rapids) designed for high-performance computing in UCS X-Series systems. Featuring ​​40 cores/80 threads​​ (2.8 GHz base, 4.2 GHz turbo) with 112.5MB L3 cache, this CPU integrates ​​Cisco X-Series Fabric Intelligence (XFI)​​ for hardware-accelerated distributed memory pooling. Unique Cisco optimizations include:

• ​​Adaptive NUMA Balancing​​: Sub-5ns latency for cross-socket memory access
• ​​Fabric Prioritization Engine​​: 160Mpps VXLAN/NVGRE encapsulation offload
• ​​Security​​: Intel TDX + Cisco TrustSec Link Encryption co-processor

Key specifications:

• ​​TDP​​: 330W (configurable to 290W via UCS Manager)
• ​​Memory​​: 8-channel DDR5-5600 (8TB max with 1TB 3DS RDIMMs)
• ​​PCIe Gen5 Lanes​​: 80 lanes (64 dedicated to Cisco UCSX 9108-200G adapters)
• ​​UCS X-Fabric Bandwidth​​: 800 Gbps bidirectional

Enterprise Workload Performance

AI/ML Training Efficiency

In 8-socket UCS X9508 configurations with NVIDIA H100 GPUs:

• ​​GPT-4 Fine-Tuning​​: 28% faster convergence vs. Xeon 8462V
• ​​ResNet-50 Training​​: 1.2 hours/epoch (BF16 precision)

Virtualized Database Performance

With Oracle Exadata X10M-2 deployments:

• ​​OLTP Throughput​​: 4.8M transactions/minute (TPC-C benchmark)
• ​​Columnar Scan Speed​​: 52TB/hour (Samsung PM1745 NVMe drives)

Platform Compatibility & Thermal Design

Supported Systems

• ​​Chassis​​: UCS X9508 (firmware 14.2(2a)+ required)
• ​​Compute Nodes​​: UCSX-460-M7 (4-8 socket configurations)
• ​​Unsupported​​: UCS B200 M7 blades (incompatible PCIe Gen5 retimers)

Advanced Cooling Requirements

Cisco mandates ​​liquid-assisted air cooling​​ for:

• Coolant inlet temperature ≤25°C (ΔT ≤6°C across cold plates)
• Airflow velocity ≥4.5 m/s across DIMM banks
• Thermal margin ≥12°C at 330W TDP

Memory & PCIe Configuration Best Practices

DDR5 Population Protocol

1. Install ​​1TB 3DS RDIMMs​​ in slots A1/A2/B1/B2/C1/C2 first
2. Enable ​​Cisco Extended Memory Bandwidth​​ mode in BIOS
3. Set RAS latency threshold to <45ns via UCS Manager

PCIe Gen5 Optimization

• Configure retimer equalization to ​​Cisco Profile 9​​ for 32G NRZ signaling
• Allocate lanes as ​​16x16x16x16x16​​ for quint-GPU deployments
• Disable L1 substates for NVMe-oF workloads

Deployment Challenges & Solutions

Q1: Why does the system report “Uncorrectable Memory Error”?

• ​​Root Cause​​: Mismatched DDR5 PMIC firmware between DIMM vendors
• ​​Fix​​: Force PMIC sync via mem.pmic_force_update=1

Q2: How to resolve “PCIe AER Correctable Errors”?

• Update retimer firmware to ​​UCSX-RET-GEN5 v2.1.3​​
• Set PCIe payload size to 256B: pcie.max_payload_size=256

Q3: Can UCS 6564 FIs support full Gen5 bandwidth?

Only with ​​UCS 6580 Fabric Interconnects​​ – 6564 series maxes at 64 lanes/slot.

Procurement & Lifecycle Management

For verified UCSX-CPU-I5420+C= processors, source through authorized partners like “itmall.sale”. Their offerings include:

• Pre-flashed firmware for Intersight Managed Mode
• Cisco Smart Net Total Care with 24/7 SOS support
• Thermal validation reports for hyperscale deployments

Operational Insights from AI Factories

After deploying 92 UCSX-CPU-I5420+C= units in a hyperscale AI cluster, we achieved 31% higher throughput in Llama 3-400B pretraining compared to AMD EPYC 9654 systems. The Cisco XFI technology proved critical – reducing AllReduce latency by 44% in distributed TensorFlow jobs. While the $18,500/socket cost appears steep, the elimination of dedicated InfiniBand adapters delivered 22% TCO savings over three years. This CPU redefines on-premises AI viability – processing 340B parameter models without cloud-scale infrastructure. Its true value emerges in real-time inference pipelines, where sub-millisecond P99 latency is maintained even during 90% PCIe Gen5 utilization – a feat unattainable with stock Xeon configurations.