Intel quietly cancelled the plan for paid activation of additional processor features

A Brief History and the End of “Intel On Demand”

About five years ago, Intel launched an experiment called “Intel On Demand”—a program that allowed users to “enable” additional features on an already installed processor for an extra fee. The idea was to let customers expand their servers’ capabilities without replacing hardware: when needed they simply paid for the required module.

The main audience for the program is Xeon server processors, whose functional requirements change with infrastructure. In practice, a client could enable technologies such as Software Guard Extensions (SGX), Dynamic Load Balancer (DLB), Intel Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA), Intel In‑Memory Analytics Accelerator (IAA), and Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT). Activation could be permanent or on demand—for an additional charge.

Archiving the Project

In November last year, the GitHub repository where Intel stored the source code and documentation for this program was declared archived. This means the initiative will no longer be officially supported. The company’s website has partially removed pages describing “On Demand”; the only references remain in old PDF documents.

What It Means for Customers

Newer generations of Xeon processors generally do not provide the option to enable features on demand. If a customer wants broader functionality, they will have to purchase more expensive models with the required modules upfront instead of paying to activate them later.

Reasons for Dropping the Program

From an industry perspective, the idea of charging extra for enabling already built‑in physical blocks drew criticism. Many users found this approach excessive and unfair, so Intel ultimately decided to discontinue support for “Intel On Demand.”