AMD Pacifica details imminent

It'll come down to the wire, but Advanced Micro Devices expects to meet its deadline to fully disclose details of its "Pacifica" technology to help processors run multiple operating systems simultaneously.

The chipmaker had said it planned to reveal details by the end of March. On Monday, a company representative said the announcement is expected Wednesday, March 30. Microsoft and EMC's VMware subsidiary, which each have software that dovetails with the processor "virtualization" technology, will lend their support to AMD's technology, AMD said. The chipmaker also is working with the competing open-source Xen software project.

AMD's Pacifica faces competition in Intel's Vanderpool, now officially named Intel Virtualization Technology and due to arrive in processors by the end of the year. Both technologies make it easier to get a server to juggle multiple jobs efficiently. Pacifica is due to arrive in 2006.