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86 rush towards 64-bit computing. Bill Gates set the bar high on his company's expectations for 64-bit extensions to x86 systems. "Between now and the end of 2005, we'll go from having very few 64-bit chips out there to virtually 100 percent what AMD ships, and the majority of what Intel ships within less than two years will be 64-bit capable chips," Gates said at the 2004 Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle. In the Windows world, software is finally catching up to hardware when it comes to 64-bit extensions to x86 systems. AMD has been shipping Opteron processors, with support for 64-bit memory addressing and adherence to the x86 instruction set, since 2003. The problem has been that Microsoft initially didn't commit to delivering Windows servers for the chip, but then committed only with beta code. The long wait is nearly over.

Onset of dual-core and multi-core processors
Looming behind the 64-bit wave is the advent of multi-core processors. Both Intel and AMD are working hard to put multiple cores on a single processor, effectively turning the silicon that slides into one processor socket on the motherboard into a mini-SMP system. The first round will consist of dual-core processors. Shortly after that, four-core and denser processors should emerge. AMD expects to ship its first dual-core Opteron processor soon. IBM is already committed to upgrading its Opteron-based e326 server to support dual-core. Intel is also hot on the trail of multi-core computing with a detailed public roadmap. The chip giant intends to ship its first dual-core server processors in the first quarter of 2006.

Linux on server expands
Linux will expand within server operating environments. Linux software licence revenues are set to grow 78.6% to $11.6 mn in 2005 in Asia. This trend will continue over the next four years with Linux licence revenues crossing $69.8 mn by 2008. India and China present the largest opportunities for Linux adoption and migration in the server market.