Itanium

Itanium was Intel's brand for a family of enterprise-oriented microprocessors using the IA-64 instruction-set architecture. Intel developed the architecture with Hewlett-Packard during the 1990s as an ambitious alternative to conventional x86 processors. Its central design idea was Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing, or EPIC, in which the compiler performed much of the work of identifying instruction-level parallelism and packaged independent operations into instruction bundles. The project was intended to provide very high performance and a long-term 64-bit platform for large servers, technical computing systems, and mission-critical enterprise workloads. The architecture emerged from a broader collaboration between Intel and HP. Intel brought high-volume semiconductor manufacturing and processor development capabilities, while HP contributed experience with its PA-RISC and VLIW research. The resulting platform was substantially different from the x86 family that later became Intel's dominant 64-bit strategy. The first commercial Itanium processor, code-named Merced, reached the market in 2001 after delays and performance concerns. It was followed by Itanium 2, introduced in 2002, which improved performance and became the principal form of the product line. Itanium systems were sold primarily through enterprise-server manufacturers and system vendors rather than through ordinary desktop or consumer channels. HP became the most important commercial supporter, using Itanium in its Integrity servers and in systems running HP-UX, OpenVMS, and NonStop. Other vendors, including SGI, Fujitsu, NEC, Bull, and several specialized system providers, also offered Itanium-based systems at various times. Intel positioned the platform for demanding workloads that valued reliability, scalability, large memory capacity, and long software lifecycles. The platform nevertheless faced major ecosystem and commercial obstacles. Porting operating systems, compilers, databases, and applications to IA-64 was expensive, and its performance advantage over contemporary x86 systems was inconsistent outside workloads carefully optimized for the architecture. AMD's introduction of the x86-compatible AMD64 extension in 2003 provided a more evolutionary path to 64-bit computing. Intel subsequently adopted a compatible 64-bit extension for mainstream x86 processors, reducing the strategic necessity of Itanium while preserving compatibility with the large x86 software base. Several Itanium generations followed, including Madison, Montecito, Montvale, Tukwila, Poulson, and Kittson. The later processors continued to serve a relatively concentrated installed base, especially HP enterprise systems. Intel and HP maintained support commitments for customers, but the product became increasingly specialized as x86-64 servers gained performance, reliability, virtualization, and memory capabilities. Intel shipped the final Itanium generation, Kittson-based Itanium 9700 processors, in the late 2010s. Intel later announced the end of Itanium development and final product discontinuation, with final shipments scheduled for 2021. Itanium is therefore a discontinued enterprise processor brand, although legacy systems and long-term support arrangements continued beyond the end of new processor production.

Itanium originated in a strategic collaboration between Intel and Hewlett-Packard during the 1990s. The partners sought to create a new 64-bit architecture for servers and technical systems rather than extending the existing x86 design. Their approach, eventually called IA-64, was based on Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing. The architecture exposed more scheduling responsibility to compilers, with the expectation that sophisticated compiler technology could identify parallel operations before execution and allow the processor to use its resources efficiently. Intel publicly developed the platform as a major future architecture for enterprise computing. HP contributed architectural and systems expertise derived in part from its PA-RISC work, while Intel was expected to manufacture and commercialize processors at scale. The project experienced development delays and reached the market later than originally anticipated. The first Itanium processor, Merced, launched in 2001. Its performance was uneven, particularly when compared with established architectures on workloads that were not specifically optimized for IA-64, and its software ecosystem was initially limited. Itanium 2 arrived in 2002 and became the foundation of the long-lived product family. Intel released successive versions under code names including Madison, Montecito, Montvale, Tukwila, Poulson, and Kittson. These generations added features such as greater cache capacity, multiple cores, multithreading, improved memory subsystems, virtualization support, and higher performance. The chips were used in specialized enterprise systems rather than mass-market personal computers. HP was the leading system vendor and deployed Itanium in Integrity servers supporting HP-UX, OpenVMS, and NonStop environments. Other manufacturers and integrators also produced systems for technical computing, telecommunications, government, and large corporate customers. The platform's commercial trajectory was shaped by the competition between a clean-sheet architecture and evolutionary 64-bit extensions. AMD introduced AMD64, allowing existing x86 software to move to 64-bit operation while retaining compatibility with a huge installed base. Intel later adopted a compatible extension in its own x86-64 processors. As x86-64 server processors improved, they became viable for an expanding range of workloads that had previously justified proprietary or specialized architectures. This reduced the addressable market for Itanium and made it harder for software companies to support a separate IA-64 ecosystem. A high-profile legal dispute also illustrated the competitive tensions surrounding the platform. HP sued Oracle after Oracle announced that it would stop developing software for Itanium. A California court later ruled that Oracle had contractual obligations to continue supporting HP's Itanium-based servers. The dispute ended with Oracle required to continue porting and supporting its database products for the platform without charging HP additional amounts for that obligation. The case did not restore Itanium's broader market momentum, but it helped preserve software support for existing customers. Intel continued to provide processors for the installed base. The Itanium 9300 series, introduced in 2010, used the Tukwila generation; the Itanium 9500 series, launched in 2012, used Poulson; and the Itanium 9700 series, launched in 2017, represented the final generation. Intel's later product-change notice announced the end of Itanium production and established a final-order and final-shipment schedule. The final processors shipped in 2021 under the announced timetable. Itanium is now a discontinued processor brand, though customers may continue to operate legacy systems under vendor maintenance and operating-system support programs.

• 2021

  Final Itanium shipments

  [3]Intel Itanium 9700 Product Change Notificationintel.com

  The final Itanium 9700 processors shipped under Intel's announced product-discontinuation timetable.

• 2019

  Intel publishes final product-change notice

  [3]Intel Itanium 9700 Product Change Notificationintel.com

  Intel announced the end of product ordering and production for Itanium 9700 processors under a formal discontinuation schedule.

• 2017

  Itanium 9700 series launches

  [2]Intel Itanium Productsintel.com

  Intel introduced the Kittson-based Itanium 9700 series, the final generation of Itanium processors.

• 2012

  Itanium 9500 series launches

  [5]Intel Itanium 9560 Specificationsintel.com

  The Poulson-based Itanium 9500 series brought a new processor design and performance improvements for mission-critical systems.

• 2010

  Itanium 9300 series launches

  [4]Intel Itanium 9300 Series Specificationsintel.com

  The Tukwila-based Itanium 9300 series extended the platform with multiple cores, multithreading, and enhanced enterprise features.

• 2003

  AMD64 changes the 64-bit server competition

  [6]AMD Corporate Historyamd.com

  AMD introduced an x86-compatible 64-bit extension, offering customers an evolutionary alternative to adopting IA-64.

• 2002

  Itanium 2 launches

  [1]Intel Museum: The Story of Itaniumintel.com

  Itanium 2 became the principal product line and addressed several performance limitations of the original processor.

• 2001

  Merced reaches the market

  [1]Intel Museum: The Story of Itaniumintel.com

  The first commercial Itanium processor launched for high-end servers and technical computing systems.

• 1994

  Intel and HP begin IA-64 collaboration

  [1]Intel Museum: The Story of Itaniumintel.com

  Intel and Hewlett-Packard developed a new 64-bit enterprise architecture that became IA-64 and was later marketed under the Itanium name.

A premium, enterprise-focused 64-bit server processor platform emphasizing scalability, reliability, large-memory systems, compiler-assisted parallelism, and long-term support for mission-critical workloads.

• IA-64 enterprise processor · 2001

  Itanium

  The original Itanium processor family introduced Intel's IA-64 architecture and EPIC execution model. It targeted high-end servers and technical systems and required operating systems, compilers, and applications specifically adapted to the architecture.

• Enterprise server processor · 2002

  Itanium 2

  Itanium 2 was the major successor to the first-generation product. It improved execution resources, cache arrangements, and overall performance, and became the processor family used in most commercial Itanium server deployments.

• Mission-critical server processor · 2010

  Itanium 9300 series

  The 9300 series, code-named Tukwila, brought multiple cores, simultaneous multithreading, larger shared cache, and enterprise-oriented reliability and virtualization capabilities to Itanium systems.

• Mission-critical server processor · 2012

  Itanium 9500 series

  The 9500 series, code-named Poulson, used a revised processor design and was intended to extend performance and scalability for HP Integrity and other large enterprise systems.

• Mission-critical server processor · 2017

  Itanium 9700 series

  The 9700 series, code-named Kittson, was the final Itanium generation. It continued the platform's focus on long-lived, high-availability enterprise systems and legacy operating environments.

• 2019

  Intel ends Itanium productionStrategy

  Background

  The Itanium market had become concentrated in legacy enterprise systems while Intel's mainstream server business centered on Xeon and x86-64.

  Action taken

  Intel issued a product-change notice ending orders and production for the Itanium 9700 family according to a staged final-order and final-shipment schedule.

  Aftermath

  Itanium became a discontinued processor brand, with customers relying on existing inventory, system-vendor support, and long-term maintenance arrangements.

  Source

• 2012

  Intel continues specialized Itanium investmentStrategy

  Background

  Despite the expansion of x86-64 servers, a substantial installed base remained dependent on Itanium-based mission-critical systems.

  Action taken

  Intel launched the Itanium 9500 series and continued supporting the platform for enterprise customers and system vendors.

  Aftermath

  Itanium remained available for legacy and specialized systems, but its role was increasingly concentrated in a small number of enterprise platforms.

  Source

• 2003

  Intel adopts x86-compatible 64-bit extensionsStrategy

  Background

  The emergence of AMD64 created demand for a 64-bit path that preserved compatibility with the established x86 software ecosystem.

  Action taken

  Intel developed and commercialized 64-bit extensions for its mainstream x86 processors while continuing to position Itanium for specialized enterprise workloads.

  Aftermath

  The decision gave Intel a broad x86-64 server strategy and reduced the likelihood that Itanium would become the universal successor to x86.

  • AMD — AMD continued promoting AMD64 as a compatible alternative to a clean-sheet 64-bit architecture.

  Source

• 2019

  Intel announces Itanium discontinuation[3]Intel Itanium 9700 Product Change Notificationintel.com

  Other

  Intel issued a product-change notice ending new Itanium product shipments, with final orders and final shipments scheduled under the notice's stated timetable.

• 2017

  Intel announces the final Itanium processors[2]Intel Itanium Productsintel.com

  Product launch · Product generation

  Intel announced the Itanium 9700 series, also known as Kittson, as the final generation of the Itanium family.

• 2002

  Itanium 2 becomes the main product platform[1]Intel Museum: The Story of Itaniumintel.com

  Product launch · Product generation

  Intel launched Itanium 2, a substantially revised processor generation intended to address performance and product-positioning concerns associated with the first Itanium.

• 2001

  First Itanium processor launches[1]Intel Museum: The Story of Itaniumintel.com

  Product launch

  Intel introduced the first commercial Itanium processor, code-named Merced, beginning the IA-64 product family after a lengthy joint development effort with Hewlett-Packard.

1. 1Intel Museum: The Story of Itaniumintel.com
2. 2Intel Itanium Productsintel.com
3. 3Intel Itanium 9700 Product Change Notificationintel.com
4. 4Intel Itanium 9300 Series Specificationsintel.com
5. 5Intel Itanium 9560 Specificationsintel.com
6. 6AMD Corporate Historyamd.com
7. 7Intel adopts x86-compatible 64-bit extensionsintel.com