Sierra Forest

Sierra Forest is the codename for 6th generation Xeon Scalable server processors designed by Intel, launched in June 2024. It is the first generation of Xeon processors to exclusively feature density-optimized E-cores. Sierra Forest processors are targeted towards cloud server customers with up to 288 Crestmont E-cores.

Background
On February 17, 2022, Intel announced that upcoming Xeon generations would be split into two tracks for those with P-cores exclusively and E-cores exclusively. These two tracks are intended to serve different market segments with P-core Xeon processors targeting high performance computing while E-core Xeon processors target cloud customers who prioritize greater core density, energy efficiency and performance in heavily multi-threaded workloads over strong single-threaded usage.

On March 29, 2023, Intel announced that Sierra Forest processors had powered on and displayed a processor running 144 E-cores, and announced a release timeline for H1 2024. On September 19, 2023, Intel announced at their Innovation event that a 288-core variant of Sierra Forest would be coming.

Branding
During Intel's Vision event in April 2024, new branding for Xeon processors was unveiled. The Xeon Scalable branding that was introduced in 2017 would be retired in favor of a simplified "Xeon 6" brand for 6th generation Xeon processors. This change brings greater emphasis on processor generation numbers. The badge for the Xeon brand was changed to be more visually in line with the badge design used for Intel's Core Ultra processors since 2023.

Architecture
Sierra Forest will use only E-cores to achieve higher core counts in order to compete with AMD's Epyc server processors codenamed Bergamo which features up to 128 smaller Zen 4c cores. AMD's Zen 4c cores feature simultaneous multithreading (SMT) while the Crestmont E-cores featured in Sierra Forest processors can only support one thread for each core. The purpose of the Sierra Forest architecture design is to achieve ultra-high core counts for greater compute density that would benefit cloud and HPC server applications. Cloud service providers may not be as interested in HPC accelerators and instead prioritize greater ECU/vCPU integer and floating-point performance. Don Soltis is the principal engineer and chief architect for Xeon E-Core.

Sierra Forest-SP
Sierra Forest-SP (Scalable Performance) uses the Beechnut City platform with the smaller LGA 4710 socket, targeted towards mainstream server. Sierra Forest-SP features up to 144 E-cores and 8-channel DDR5 memory support. TDPs up to 350W are supported on Beechnut City platform.

Sierra Forest-AP
Sierra Forest-AP uses the Avenue City platform with the larger LGA 7529 socket for higher core count SKUs up to 288. It supports a higher number PCIe lanes and 12-channel DDR5 memory.