Intel lands Facebook hardware contract

Under the deal, Intel will oversee the implementation and management of thousands of Xeon-based servers. The new systems will be charged with handling the massive Facebook database.

The new servers will primarily on processors from the Xeon 5400 series, though Intel said that it would look at 'various chipset and server platform configurations.'

Intel hopes that the deal will yield benefits beyond a simple partnership with Facebook. The two companies plan to do much of the work in open source, and any new software systems that result from the project could possibly be released to the public.

Facebook hopes that the new servers will be able to handle not only its user information, but also an expending set of music, video and photo services as well.

"We are pleased to expand our relationship with Intel," said Facebook vice president of technical operations Jonathan Heiliger.

"Intel has demonstrated that the performance of their systems can help Facebook scale our infrastructure and continue to deliver the best experience to users around the world."

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