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Follow UsIBM India launched a new eServer x440 under its revolutionary Enterprise X
Architecture (EXA). The X architecture technology brought the benefits of
advanced mainframe technologies to Intel based systems and helped address core
eBusiness applications along with price advantages. In tandem, the x440 pioneers
a new building block approach that gives a price choice to customers for every
incremental computing power. IBM teamed up with Intel to enable x440 sport an
Intel Xeon processor MP (multi processor). It is being pitched as an ideal
enterprise eBusiness system for diverse enterprise segments.
The launch of x440 heralds a new dimension to enterprise computing, since it
encompasses two outstanding technologies. The multiprocessing capability of the
Xeon processor and the EXA gives a powerful combination to the end user. The EXA
for instance is built to optimize clients’ computing capacity with IBM’s
XpandOnDemand technology. Using a four-way processor design the user can
increase or decrease the computing power as per the capacity requirements of the
enterprise.
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Jyothi Satyanathan, country business manager, eServer xSeries, IBM India,
says, "The x440 leverages the best technology, maximizes application
flexibility and provides tools for managing servers. The EXA is a game changing
technology based on highly scalable Intel Xeon processor MP. The server brings
to table exactly what customers need to run successful e-business
applications."
EXA has enabled IBM to become the only company to offer highly scalable and
flexible server environments. Customers can now scale up to 16 processors on 32
bit systems and 32 processors on 64 bit systems. Says G B Kumar, general
manager, ISG, Intel Asia Electronics, "The EXA, and the Intel MP platform
enables a host of performance boosting features like hyper-threading technology,
three levels of integrated cache etc. This will significantly enhance the
capabilities of the servers by boosting system performance by more than 30% as
compared to systems using normal Pentium III Xeon processors."
| The ‘X’ Factor |
| IBM’s years of experience in mainframe and mid range servers culminated in the Enterprise X-Architecture development. With the launch of 1.6 GHz Xeon MP and second-generation Itanium processors by Intel, existing chipsets went erstwhile. Hence to leverage the actual power of the new class of powerful Intel processors, the server vendors have two options—one to develop chipsets themselves or to wait for chipset manufactures to roll out new chipsets. Both options had their constraints. Developing chipsets means huge up-front investments. While dependence on chipset manufacturers consumed a lot of time as vendors had to design, test and commercialize the chipset. When the lacuna in this space was noticed, IBM chipped in its experience and developed its own 32 and 64 bit chipsets. These chipsets optimized on the Intel MP and Itanium processors and got the early mover advantage with its X series of servers. The Enterprise X-Architecture today has become an industry benchmark. And a proof to that end-Intel uses it as a validation platform for Xeon MP and Itanium processors. |
The commercialization of IBM’s EXA (through the X series servers) gives a
fillip to project eLiza. eLiza aims to make eBusiness infrastructure
self-managing, self-diagnosing and self-healing system with minimum human
intervention. It advocates Real Time Diagnostics, Software Rejuvenation and Chip
Kill, which helps in pro-active server management. These have been incorporated
in the X series servers. Techniques like software rejuvenation enables 24/7
functioning of the server. Gartner concluded that 40% of Intel architecture
server downtime is due to software degradation. By using software rejuvenation
tool, a company can prevent 80% of software related downtime and thereby avoid
32% of all server downtime.
IBM’s X architecture is a major development in server side computing. While
enterprises use a combination of servers for their computing needs, management
of computing resources as per market demands has always been an up-hill task.
Here’s exactly where EXA is making headway by providing a server standard for
core e-business applications like ERP, SCM and CRM. Also, the emergence of EXA
drives home the point that a successful IT infrastructure does not mean more
processing power and larger storage. Rather it is the server architecture that
brings defined benefits in terms of processes, delivering services and RoI—
and EXA caps them all.
G SHRIKANTH in Chennai