Intel is reportedly preparing an update to its Xeon D-series processor family, with new leaks suggesting that the Granite Rapids-D architecture will be aimed at the communications and networking businesses, launching no earlier than 2024.

The new Intel Xeon "Granite Rapids-D" architecture is different from the "SP" and "AP" variants of Granite Rapids, which are aimed at data centre installation. The Xeon "Granite Rapids-D" processors will arrive in two variants: HCC (High Core Count) and XCC (Extreme Core Counts) with both variants arriving on the BGA-4368 socket in different configurations.

• The HCC variant will feature 1 x Granite Rapids LCC compute die and 4 x memory channels + 2 x I/O dies.
• The XCC variant will feature 1 x Granite Rapids HCC compute die and 8 x memory channels + 1 x I/O die.

Why are there 2 x I/O dies on the HCC variant? This is to provide a much-needed uptick in connectivity and flexibility with PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 4.0, CXL interface, Ethernet, and Accelerations. The first I/O die will take care of all of these functions for the Xeon-D processor, while the other I/O die handles additional options for Ethernet and Accelerations.

We've even got the first leaked motherboard layout for Intel's upcoming Xeon "Granite Rapids-D" processor, which shows the intricate design, as well as oodles of options for networking and connectivity.

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