Intel started preparing Software Defined Silicon initiative (SDSi) for its 4th Generation Xeon processors four years ago, intending to sell the processors and then charge a premium for enabling customers to activate accelerators for Particular workloads. Eventually, the initiative received its official 'Intel On Demand' name… and disappeared from view. Now, the legendary PC chipmaker is quietly phasing out the program, according to Phoronix.
Intel has largely ceased publicly addressing its 'Intel On Demand' initiative in recent years, and the absence of new updates suggests that development activity has diminished, potentially indicating that Intel no longer views it as a Priority. Phoronix now states that the Intel SDSi GitHub repository — housing the software components needed for Intel On Demand — was archived in November, indicating the conclusion of active development. At the same time, Intel took down most On Demand documents from its site, and for now, all traces of the program are limited to outdated PDF files available through its website, according to Phoronix.
Intel framed its On Demand initiative as a flexible solution for customers to enable accelerators like Software Guard Extensions, Dynamic Load Balancer (DLB), Intel Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA), Intel In-Memory Analytics Accelerator (IAA), Intel In-Memory Analytics Accelerator, and Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT) in its Xeon processors without needing to buy higher-tier models in advance. The model offered permanent feature activation via a one-time fee and a usage-based license allowing Intel customers to pay solely when extra acceleration features were utilized.
Despite appearing technically flexible, the initiative encountered substantial criticism from the industry. The primary worry among the server community was that accelerator IP blocks were physically present within the processors but stayed deactivated unless customers paid to enable them, suggesting Intel intended to Customers will be charged twice for certain features. Given these concerns, it’s uncertain whether On Demand ever gained traction. With SDSi support now archived on GitHub, it hardly appears that it did.
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