List of Intel Xeon processors (Cascade Lake-based)

Cascade Lake is the codename for Intel's second-generation Xeon Scalable processors, launched in 2019. These processors are based on a refined 14nm process, building upon the Skylake architecture. Cascade Lake Xeons primarily targeted server and workstation applications, offering performance improvements through features such as hardware mitigations for Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities, support for Intel Optane Persistent Memory, and increased core counts.

Key characteristics of Cascade Lake Xeon processors include:

• Process Technology: 14nm. An optimized version of the 14nm process used for Skylake.

• Socket: Primarily LGA 3647, the same socket used by Skylake-SP.

• Memory Support: DDR4 memory support, with speeds varying depending on the specific processor model. Cascade Lake also introduced support for Intel Optane Persistent Memory (PMem), allowing for larger memory capacities and new memory tiering strategies.

• Core Count: Cascade Lake Xeons offered a wide range of core counts, from relatively low-core parts to high-core-count server processors. Core counts varied significantly across the different product lines.

• Cache: Varying L3 cache sizes depending on the core count of the processor.

• Intel Deep Learning Boost (VNNI): Cascade Lake introduced Intel Deep Learning Boost (Vector Neural Network Instructions, or VNNI), a set of instructions designed to accelerate deep learning workloads.

• Security Mitigations: Hardware-level mitigations for certain Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities were implemented in Cascade Lake.

• Variants: Cascade Lake processors were available in different segments, including:

  • Xeon Scalable Processors (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze): These are the primary server processors, offering a wide range of features and performance levels. They were segmented into Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze tiers, each with varying core counts, clock speeds, memory capacity support, and feature sets.

  • Xeon W Processors: Targeted at professional workstations, these processors offered high single-threaded performance and support for larger memory capacities compared to consumer-grade processors.

  • Cascade Lake-AP (Advanced Performance): These were multi-chip module (MCM) processors designed for high-performance computing (HPC) and other demanding workloads.

The Cascade Lake Xeon family served as a mid-cycle refresh to the Skylake-SP platform, providing incremental performance improvements and new features while maintaining socket compatibility. It was succeeded by the Ice Lake-SP family of Xeon processors.