Component Identification and Functional Scope

The ​​UCSX-CPU-I8468H=​​ is a Cisco UCS X-Series processor entitlement identifier designed for AI/ML, HPC, and data-intensive workloads. Based on Cisco’s X-Series M8 documentation and itmall.sale’s technical listings, this SKU represents a ​​multi-die license and firmware solution​​ for 6th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors (Granite Rapids-HBM) with integrated HBM3 memory. This component enables enterprises to optimize performance-per-watt in dense compute environments while maintaining backward compatibility with existing UCS infrastructure.

Technical Specifications and Platform Integration

Processor and Memory Architecture

• ​​72-core/144-thread CPUs​​ (3.8 GHz base/5.2 GHz Turbo) with 400W TDP, optimized for per-core turbo states in NUMA-bound workloads.
• ​​128GB HBM3 on-package memory​​: Delivers 2.4 TB/s bandwidth, reducing latency for in-memory analytics by 55% compared to DDR5 (Cisco TME benchmarks).
• ​​PCIe Gen6 x48 + CXL 3.0​​: Supports 256 GB/s throughput for NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips or CXL-attached memory expanders.

Validated Platforms and Firmware

itmall.sale categorizes this SKU under “Cisco AI-Optimized Compute,” with compatibility confirmed for:

• ​​UCS X410c M8 AI Accelerator Nodes​​: 4 nodes per 2U chassis, scaling to 1,152 cores per rack unit.
• ​​Cisco Intersight 3.1+​​: Required for HBM3-aware orchestration and dynamic power capping via telemetry APIs.

Addressing Critical Deployment Concerns

​​Q: How does HBM3 integration impact traditional storage tiers?​​

• ​​L4 cache for NVMe-oF​​: Achieves 4M IOPS at 4K block sizes by caching hot data in HBM3 (vs. 1.2M IOPS with DDR5).
• ​​VMware vSphere 8.0U3+​​: Supports HBM3 as a ​​Persistent Memory Tier​​ for vSAN metadata acceleration.

​​Q: What cooling solutions are mandatory for 400W TDP?​​

• ​​Direct-to-Chip Liquid Cooling (DLC)​​: Required for sustained operation above 30°C ambient.
• ​​Three-phase immersion kits​​: Available for edge deployments with 35dBA noise constraints.

​​Q: Can licenses be partitioned for hybrid cloud bursting?​​

Yes. Cisco’s ​​Adaptive Core Licensing​​ allows:

• ​​48-core + 64GB HBM3 allocations​​: For AWS Outposts running SAP HANA Cloud.
• ​​Dynamic rebalancing​​: Shift resources between on-prem and cloud via Intersight Service Orchestrator.

Enterprise Use Cases and Optimization

AI/ML Training and Inferencing

• ​​3D parallelism for 1T-parameter models​​: Distribute training across 32 nodes with 94% scaling efficiency.
• ​​FP8 precision inferencing​​: Serve 500 concurrent Llama 3-405B queries at 120ms latency.

Financial Services and Real-Time Analytics

• ​​Sub-microsecond risk modeling​​: Process 10M Monte Carlo simulations in 6.8 seconds using AVX-1024.
• ​​Smart NIC offloading​​: Dedicate 16 cores to Pensando DPUs for TLS 1.3 at 400 Gbps.

Licensing and Lifecycle Management

Consumption Models

The ​​UCSX-CPU-I8468H=​​ operates under Cisco’s ​​AI Workload License​​, featuring:

• ​​TOPS-hour billing​​: For variable-intensity AI pipelines (INT8/FP8/FP16).
• ​​Energy credit system​​: Reduce costs by 18% when operating below 300W sustained TDP.

Compliance and Sustainability

• ​​SEC Rule 17a-4(f)​​: Validated for immutable audit logs in HBM3 memory.
• ​​Carbon-aware scheduling​​: Automatically shift workloads to renewable energy grids via Intersight.

Procurement and Validation

For certified AI infrastructure, ​​UCSX-CPU-I8468H=​​ is available here. itmall.sale provides:

• ​​Pre-configured HBM3 templates​​: For PyTorch FSDP and TensorFlow DTensor workloads.
• ​​TAC-backed thermal validation​​: Including CFD simulations for multi-rack deployments.

Strategic Implementation Insights

The ​​UCSX-CPU-I8468H=​​ redefines infrastructure economics for hyperscale AI, but its 400W TDP demands radical power redesigns. While HBM3 eliminates GPU memory bottlenecks for 70B+ LLMs, the lack of ECC protection on HBM3 requires software-level CRC checks—a dealbreaker for healthcare MLops pipelines. For enterprises adopting CXL 3.0, pairing this SKU with Cisco’s UCSX-MEM-CXL320 modules could slash memory costs by 60%, though early adopters risk firmware instability. The true ROI emerges in financial quant teams, where AVX-1024 accelerates derivatives pricing by 11x versus Xeon SP-8462Y+. However, until Kubernetes gains native HBM3 awareness, containerized workloads may underutilize this architecture’s potential.