Intel Launches On Demand, a Pay-As-You-Go Chip Licensing Program

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Image: Intel

Intel has officially introduced On Demand, a new pay-as-you-go chip licensing program that allows customers of the company’s upcoming 4th Generation Xeon Scalable Sapphire Rapids processors to unlock various technologies, including Software Guard Extensions, Dynamic Load Balancer (DLB), Intel Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA), Intel In-Memory Analytics Accelerator (IAA), Intel In-Memory Analytics Accelerator, and Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT) to accelerate specific workloads.

As reported by Tom’s Hardware:

Intel’s upcoming Intel’s 4th Generation Xeon Scalable Sapphire Rapids processors are equipped with various special-purpose accelerators and security technologies that all customers do not need at all times. To offer such end-users additional flexibility regarding investments, Intel will deliver them to buy its CPUs with those capabilities disabled but turn them on if they are needed at some point. The Software Defined Silicon (SDSi) technology will also allow Intel to sell fewer CPU models and then enable its clients or partners to activate certain features if needed (to use them on-prem or offer them as a service).

“Align your infrastructure investment with your business demands with Intel’s API-enabled business offerings that deliver flexible consumption and configurations,” Intel said of On Demand, which includes an Activation Model that enables users to adapt to changes and optimize for workloads.

  • Security Upgrade
    • Intel Software Guard Extensions
  • Communications & Storage Suite
    • Intel Quick Assist Technology
    • Intel Dynamic Load Balancer
    • Intel Data Streaming Accelerator (when applicable)
  • Analytics Suite
    • Intel In-Memory Analytics Accelerator
    • Intel Data Streaming Accelerator (when applicable)

On Demand is targeting data centers, but Intel tried something similar in the past in the consumer space by offering software upgrades for select desktop processors as part of an “Upgrade Service.”

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Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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