AMD tops for virualization?

We've been talking a lot about quad-core processors as of late and we've also been talking a lot about the advantages of using server virtualization in the enterprise. So, it's about time that someone put two and two together, eh (that was a quad-core pun, by the way)? AMD has stepped up to the plate, claiming that its upcoming "Barcelona" quad-core chip will be better suited for server virtualization than the competition. One of the major bottlenecks in the virtualization process is the performance requirements of hypervisor software, which regulates OS calls to the hardware. As you can imagine, hardware access gets a lot stickier when you've got multiple operating systems running simultaneously. Subsequently, the hypervisor can be a real performance drain. Intel's Xeon line of chips was the first to offer specific hardware support for hypervisor software (albeit limited) and now AMD is following suit. AMD, however, thinks that Barcelona will be better equipped to deal with the challenges that virtualization poses than its Xeon counterparts. Without getting too technical, I can tell you that a lot of it has to do with the chip's architecture (i.e. AMD's "native" quad-core design) as well as specific features designed to boost virtualization performance.

For more details:
- check out this article at CNET