Intel Ivy Bridge-based Xeon microprocessors (also known as Ivy Bridge-E) is the follow-up to Sandy Bridge-E, using the same CPU core as the Ivy Bridge processor, but in LGA 2011, LGA 1356 and LGA 2011-1[1] packages for workstations and servers.
Dual memory controllers for Ivy Bridge-EP and Ivy Bridge-EX[2]
Up to 12 CPU cores and 30 MB of L3 cache for Ivy Bridge-EP[2]
Up to 15 CPU cores and 37.5 MB L3 cache for Ivy Bridge-EX[3] (released on February 18, 2014 as Xeon E7 v2[4])
The Ivy Bridge-E family is made in three different versions, by number of cores, and for three market segments: the basic Ivy Bridge-E is a single-socket processor sold as Core i7-49xx and is only available in the six-core S1 stepping, with some versions limited to four active cores.
Ivy Bridge-EN (Xeon E5-14xx v2 and Xeon E5-24xx v2) is the model for single- and dual-socket servers using LGA 1356 with up to 10 cores, while Ivy Bridge-EP (Xeon E5-16xx v2, Xeon E5-26xx v2 and Xeon E5-46xx v2) scales up to four LGA 2011 sockets and up to 12 cores per chip.
There are in fact three die "flavors" for the Ivy Bridge-EP, meaning that they are manufactured and organized differently, according to the number of cores an Ivy Bridge-EP CPU includes:[11]
The largest is an up-to-12-core die organized as three four-core columns with up to 30 MB L3 cache in two banks between the cores; these cores are linked by three rings of interconnects.
The intermediate is an up-to-10-core die organized as two five-core columns with up to 25 MB L3 cache in a single bank between the cores; the cores are linked by two rings of interconnects.
The smallest is an up-to-six-core die organized as two three-core columns with up to 15 MB L3 cache in a single bank between the cores; the cores are linked by two rings of interconnects.
Ivy Bridge-EX has up to 15 cores and scales to 8 sockets. The 15-core die is organized into three columns of five cores, with three interconnect rings connecting two columns per ring; each five-core column has a separate L3 cache.[12]