64-Bit Computing

With Windows Server 2003, 64-bit computing achieves its full potential. Not only do computers running 64-bit versions of Windows perform better and run faster than their 32-bit counterparts, they are also more scalable, as they can process more data per clock cycle, address more memory, and perform numeric calculations faster. Windows Server 2003 supports two different 64-bit architectures:

  • The first architecture is based on the Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing (EPIC) processor architecture, which is implemented in Intel Itanium (IA-64) processors. This architecture offers native 64-bit processing, allowing 64-bit applications to achieve optimal performance.

  • 64-Bit Computing

    The second architecture is based on 64-bit extensions to the x86 instructions set, which is implemented in AMD Opteron (AMD64) processors and Intel Xeon processors with 64-bit extension technology. This architecture offers native 32-bit processing and 64-bit extension processing.

64-bit computing is designed for performing operations that are memory-intensive and that require extensive numeric calculations. With 64-bit processing, applications can load large data sets entirely into physical memory (that is, RAM), which reduces the need to page to disk and increases performance substantially. The EPIC instruction set enables Itaniumbased processors to perform up to 20 operations simultaneously.

x86-based and Itanium-based computers differ in many fundamental ways. x86-based computers use BIOS and the Master Boot Record (MBR) disk type. Itanium-based computers use Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) and the GUID Partition Table (GPT) disk type. This means there are differences in the way you manage x86-based and Itanium-based computers, particularly when it comes to setup and disk configuration. For details on setting up x86-based and Itanium-based computers, see the section entitled "Getting a Quick Start". Techniques for using MBR and GPT disks are covered in detail in Chapter 19.

Note

In this text, I will refer to 32-bit versions of Windows and 64-bit versions of Windows to indicate something that applies to Windows Server 2003 32-bit and Windows Server 2003 64-bit versions in general. If a feature is specific to chip architecture, I will specify the chip architecture, such as x86 (IA-32) or Itanium (IA-64). Keep in mind that the Windows Server 2003 64-bit extended systems versions run on x86 chip architectures.

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