Intel has demonstrated a first prototype of a working four-way server running on the firm's forthcoming quad core Xeon processor, codenamed Tigerton.

The chip maker demonstrated the new server, which offers a total of 16 processing cores, at a meeting with reporters in San Francisco.

Tigerton will be Intel's first chip for use in multi-processor systems that use the new Core architecture.

The chip is based on the Caneland platform and is expected to start shipping in volume by the third quarter of 2007. Caneland is scheduled to support the new Clarksboro chipset that will support Fully-Buffered Dual In-Line Memory Module (FB-DIMM) memory chips as well as I/O Acceleration Technology.

Two-way servers are currently considered the sweet spot in the server market. Intel targets the new multiprocessor server chips at data intensive applications and server consolidation.

Intel is currently shipping the first four-core processors to PC manufacturers and the first systems are slated for availability by November. A server version for single and dual processor servers is also expected to ship by November.