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Intel bug incoming? Meltdown and Spectre exploits

thenewoc said:
I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have to update drivers due to low level coding / accessing kernel memory in the way that some AV was / is, rather than using the OS's library / api method, eg the correct way of doing things to avoid blue screen errors that now occur when software tries to do it the non supported way.
Click to expand...

If that was the case, then the Windows Meltdown patch would have also broken the graphics drivers, but as far as I know they didn't. Given their role, it's unlikely that graphics drivers have any need to make naughty OS calls.
 
Do we know anything much more definite on performance yet? I have seen a few benchmarks on gaming and they seem to show either close on zero or at most a 2-3% impact... the only big one was on SSD drive performance that took a pretty sizable hit - which I guess could hit some tasks hard, but very little that would affect a home user/gamer.
 
I have decided that I'm done with this already - Still no sign of patches for my 9 dl380's gen 7 servers, skylake laptops or my 3300SFF estate. HP release a blog post and then tell us that they are only fixing the following servers:
  • ProLiant ML10 Gen8 server
  • ProLiant ML310e Gen8 server
  • ProLiant Microserver Gen8
  • ProLiant XL260a Gen9 server
  • HPE Synergy 620 Gen9 Compute Modules
  • HPE Synergy 680 Gen9 Compute Modules
  • ProLiant Thin Micro TM200
  • ProLiant m510 Server Cartridge
  • ProLiant m300 Server Cartridge
  • ProLiant m350 Server Cartridge
  • ProLiant DL160 Gen8
  • ProLiant DL320e Gen8
  • ProLiant DL360e Gen8
  • ProLiant DL360p Gen8
  • ProLiant DL380e Gen8
  • ProLiant DL380p Gen8
  • ProLiant DL560 Gen8
  • ProLiant DL580 Gen8
  • ProLiant ML350e Gen8
  • ProLiant ML350p Gen8
  • ProLiant SL230s Gen8
  • ProLiant SL250s Gen8
  • ProLiant SL270s Gen8
  • ProLiant BL420c Gen8
  • ProLiant BL460c Gen8
  • ProLiant BL660c Gen8
  • ProLiant SL210t Gen8
So my Xeon x5690's will work but wont see a patch, notice also that Intel release figures on performance hits for the last 3 generations, but why nothing before that?. What is a man to do? What would you do? It looks to me like Intel have forced my hand and so this morning I changed my budget and have budgeted for a full replacement with DL385 Gen 10 servers rocking either 7601 or 7251 epyc cpu's. I was hoping to get another year or so out of these but it looks like I won't get that. Anybody else on Gen 7 if so what are you going to do? Accept the flaw and carry on hoping or are you doing something about it?
 
Our Dell R720s, each with 2 x Xeon E5-2650, are due to get a Bios update on 1st Feb according to their website. A relief, as we weren't planning on a refresh until 2019.
 
Bonjour said:
Our Dell R720s, each with 2 x Xeon E5-2650, are due to get a Bios update on 1st Feb according to their website. A relief, as we weren't planning on a refresh until 2019.
Click to expand...

My plan was the same - 2019 refresh and off we go. At least I have been testing threadripper under ESXi so porting everything to EPYC servers shouldn't be too much of a faf. It's just a pain as I didn't want to be messing about with it all just yet but if it's not patched then I can't rightly just sit on it.
 
Vince said:
I have decided that I'm done with this already - Still no sign of patches for my 9 dl380's gen 7 servers, skylake laptops or my 3300SFF estate. HP release a blog post and then tell us that they are only fixing the following servers:
  • ProLiant ML10 Gen8 server
  • ProLiant ML310e Gen8 server
  • ProLiant Microserver Gen8
  • ProLiant XL260a Gen9 server
  • HPE Synergy 620 Gen9 Compute Modules
  • HPE Synergy 680 Gen9 Compute Modules
  • ProLiant Thin Micro TM200
  • ProLiant m510 Server Cartridge
  • ProLiant m300 Server Cartridge
  • ProLiant m350 Server Cartridge
  • ProLiant DL160 Gen8
  • ProLiant DL320e Gen8
  • ProLiant DL360e Gen8
  • ProLiant DL360p Gen8
  • ProLiant DL380e Gen8
  • ProLiant DL380p Gen8
  • ProLiant DL560 Gen8
  • ProLiant DL580 Gen8
  • ProLiant ML350e Gen8
  • ProLiant ML350p Gen8
  • ProLiant SL230s Gen8
  • ProLiant SL250s Gen8
  • ProLiant SL270s Gen8
  • ProLiant BL420c Gen8
  • ProLiant BL460c Gen8
  • ProLiant BL660c Gen8
  • ProLiant SL210t Gen8
So my Xeon x5690's will work but wont see a patch, notice also that Intel release figures on performance hits for the last 3 generations, but why nothing before that?. What is a man to do? What would you do? It looks to me like Intel have forced my hand and so this morning I changed my budget and have budgeted for a full replacement with DL385 Gen 10 servers rocking either 7601 or 7251 epyc cpu's. I was hoping to get another year or so out of these but it looks like I won't get that. Anybody else on Gen 7 if so what are you going to do? Accept the flaw and carry on hoping or are you doing something about it?
Click to expand...

Can you link to the blog post.

I'm not finding it online.

Thanks
 
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Some results from benching my work laptop:

y4mGK_R0ooCuUpqZ2MKKBXpajtst4MZ2tuNwa7topbMWGTrILzuiz-9WYjtW6cZpz9qP4Bo41P0fxNzX3flguR9IWQwzpmJrRe_X8tc_U4x-B08B38d-RLeKD0CLVaCQNR1l0uRJnC6pgeGphqcSkijEorMWFSMJ5l2pmFiaN-LJC2uYaVFP-BleeaXd_UUbVjQg7YVJ3B6cTdFfp18-Ue0yA


System spec:
Laptop Specification:
CPU: Intel Core i7-6820HQ @ 2.7GHz
RAM: 16GB
HDD: 512GB Samsung SSD 950 Pro
GPU: Nvidia Quadro M2000M and Intel HD 530
OS: Windows 10 Enterprise

From looking at other benchmarks i've got a feeling the impact on the SSD may be what is providing the hit to the scores?
 
I presume ryzen refresh and Intel's next release will be free from this or are they still going to be impacted due to windows updates?
 
Vince said:
Doesn't look that way - Gen 8 and up is what im being told. This is because Intel are only patching CPU's after 2013 and sod everybody else.
Click to expand...

That isn't what Intel have actually said though.

1. Customer-First Urgency: By Jan. 15, we will have issued updates for at least 90 percent of Intel CPUs introduced in the past five years, with updates for the remainder of these CPUs available by the end of January. We will then focus on issuing updates for older products as prioritized by our customers.
Click to expand...

They do say they intend to offer updates for older CPU's after this month, though they haven't said which ones yet. I suspect Ivy/Sandy will get updates due to the number of those systems still in use though, and that will cover a good portion of systems still active. Now if the system vendors / motherboard makers will update BIOSes for systems that old is unclear - I suspect many won't bother. However patching a BIOS with new microcode is a fairly easy and painless process, so as long as Intel deliver the updates then I think older systems will continue to be fine.
 
DarkBahamut said:
That isn't what Intel have actually said though.

They do say they intend to offer updates for older CPU's after this month, though they haven't said which ones yet. I suspect Ivy/Sandy will get updates due to the number of those systems still in use though, and that will cover a good portion of systems still active. Now if the system vendors / motherboard makers will update BIOSes for systems that old is unclear - I suspect many won't bother. However patching a BIOS with new microcode is a fairly easy and painless process, so as long as Intel deliver the updates then I think older systems will continue to be fine.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... Cheers for the snippit, I dunno what to think if I am honest, they say that they have patched processors released in the last 5 years yet my 6700hq still hasn't received a ME SA-00086 patch for a Management Engine vulnerability back in November and that's a 6th Gen skylake. Nothing available through the manufacturers site and also nothing available via windows update. The vendor when I contacted them told me that they are still waiting on Intel to address the issue and that they expect an update to this within the next month (for a vulnerability back in November this is poor). I don't know if I believe anything that they are saying if I am honest.

To me it appears that they are focusing on kit where the performance impact isn't going to fall off a cliff, that way it all looks decent enough to the public and in the media. The real question is what happens to us lot running stacks of servers that are older but still well inside the usable life, do we just wait until intel can be bothered to get around to us? Not me boss.
 
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Our blade/virtual infrastructure is ok as they are all new as of last year however we do have a fair number of G7/8's in the form of DL machines running various stuff that can't or won't live in the virtual environment so ideally we need the updates sooner rather than later. I'll admit when i first read that they weren't going to release updates i got excited as it meant i may have just been able to buy new ones. :D
 
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