Servers & Workstations: The Year 2005—06: Some Interesting News Bits

CoolThreads to Enhance Server Performance



User organizations that are experiencing more workloads for their Web

applications can leverage CoolThreads, as Sun Microsystems announced the

availability of the Sun Fire T1000 and T2000 servers featuring patented

CoolThreads Technology in India. CoolThreads Technology is an eight core,

32-thread processor that packs the performance of a rack of servers onto a

single chip.

According to the company, the new servers allow customers to take advantage

of the new CoolThreads technology without having to rewrite applications. The

company also claimed that the new systems are the first servers designed from

the ground up for Internet workloads and for running current and next-generation

Web applications and distributed database systems.

Branch Office Servers



The Windows Server 2003 R2, Microsoft's prequel to the much-awaited

Longhorn project (due in 2007), is slated to be released later this year. The

software giant is eyeing the branch office server market in its forthcoming R2

launch. With R2, branch office servers can get performance and productivity

benefits akin to the main office servers.

One of the key elements of the R2 server is the inclusion of Background

Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) caching support technology, which would help

in optimizing the bandwidth utilization. To further spruce up WAN utilization,

the servers would be equipped with Distributed Filing System (DFS) and File

Replication Service (FRS). Another aspect is the Active Directory Federation

Services (ADFS), which provides security when users interact with partners or

while deploying internet-facing Web -applications.

Conserving Server Power and Cooling Costs



Enterprises that want to cut their power and cooling costs can try IBM

offerings including IBM BladeCentre blade and System x servers and workstations,

which are geared to help reduce power and cooling costs while delivering

performance gains over earlier technology. The new systems enable up to 90%

better application performance, and up to 163% better performance per watt. The

systems are designed and optimized to support more advanced computing with

future quad core CPU models. The new IBM systems offer the latest in

energy-efficient performance and dual-core technology.

IBM PowerExecutive is also available across the line of blades and servers,

free of charge and -available by download for customers. IBM expects these

systems to be available in August 2006. Additional x86 systems for a variety of

business computing needs will be introduced as part of the IBM System x

portfolio and IBM Express portfolio in the coming months.

Next-generation Mobile Workstations



Here's a good news for mobile professionals who want to carry their

workstations along for high-end applications. Dell unveiled next-generation

mobile worksta-tions — the Dell Precision M90 and Dell Precision M65, which

deliver new levels of performance and features in a -mobile plat-form along with

the applica-tion certifications and assu-red reliability that professio-nal

workstation users de-mand. The products can enable engineers, artists,

developers, and other profes-sionals to take their business critical certified

applications every-where without compromise.

Since durability and reliability are key concerns for workstation users, both

new models feature a solid magne-sium alloy exoskeleton, and the display bezel

design helps minimize screen marking. Sealed spill resistant key-boards,

full-time hard drive protection with StrikeZone, and steel reinforced security

slots are included standard on all models.

A Sever Facility in Chennai



Maples ESM Technologies, a company involved in ESM (Enterprise System

Management) consultancy for medium and large sized companies announced the

launch of a new facility in the IT Corridor of Chennai, at a cost of $ 12

million. The facility includes a wide range of high-end servers like IBM

Mainframe, Z/890, HP, Sun, and networking gears designed to provide seamless IT

services to global client base in 'Remote IT Infrastructure Management.'

Maples ESM Technologies is the prime vendor and the largest single vendor in

ESM services for IBM in India and has 493 professionals working in the IBM

facilities at Bangalore and Hyderabad. Currently, Maples, which serves India's

15 top IT companies has orders within India to add 300 professionals every

quarter.

New Server Chip



Intel said that it has produced a new chip for servers. The company also

said that it would unveil a new processor in the third quarter using a more

efficient design, which it has dubbed the Core Microarchitecture that would

allow for better performance and lower power consumption.

The new chip is called Xeon and was previously codenamed Woodcrest. Intel

executives have previously said the new chip would deliver an 80% gain in

performance with a 35% reduction in power use.

AMD, once relegated to mimicking advances by its larger rival, has turned the

tables in recent years with innovations such as putting two processing cores in

a single chip, allowing it to handle multiple tasks more efficiently.

The technological edge has translated into higher market share for AMD in the

server market, though Intel still outsells it by a ratio of nearly four to one

in desktop PCs and nine to one in laptops.

Server Cards Technology



Canada-based Eicon Networks Corporation, designer, developer and

manufacturer of communication -products, has launched the new Diva Server

telephony card in India. The Diva Server range of software and intelligent

server cards provides digital (ISDN), analog, and IP-based connections for

advanced software applications. Eicon has chosen Go..IP Solutions Ltd as its

value added reseller in India.

Retail Store, Only Servers



Vertex Techno Solutions announced the opening of an AMD exclusive

multi-brand computing devices store in Bangalore. The store will showcase all

major brands including HP, Lenovo, Acer, and Fujitsu, all exclusively based on

the AMD platform. It'll feature desktops of these brands based on

state-of-the-art processors from the Sempron, Athlon and Turion family based on

the AMD 64-bit technology with dual-core solutions. The retail outlet will

provide an ultimate touch and feel experience of AMD's entire range of

processors.

In addition to the various solutions on the latest AMD platforms, the Vertex

store will feature accessories and value-added services for customers. Vertex

Techno Solutions is an IT infrastructure solutions company dedicated to offering

technology solutions and services. As a Premier Business Partner for HP, Vertex

offers a range of technology products — peripherals, desktops, laptops,

servers, storage, and networking solutions.

Server Offerings for Linux and Windows



Targeting Linux and Windows users, the new server offerings are coming to

help enterprises achieve -business continuity and simplified management. In this

direction, Fujitsu India unveiled the Primequest 420 midrange server for Intel

Itanium 2-based systems running Linux or Windows Server 2003 platforms. It

combines high system scalability with data centre-class fault immunity and

supports a maximum of eight Intel Itanium 2 processors rated at 1.5 GHz or 1.6

GHz.

The server incorporates two key technologies — System Mirror and Flexible

Input/Output (FIO) — to maximize system availability. System Mirror, enabled

by dual synchronous system architecture, allows memory modules and crossbar

interconnects to operate in duplex mode and isolates errors without causing a

system halt. FIO allows I/O resources to be dynamically allocated based on

real-time performance requirements, thus reducing maintenance downtime and

avoiding disruptions to business -operations.

Analog Solution for Server Management



In the contemporary digital world, even analog solutions can be used to

improve infrastructure management. This fact is manifested by the IT solutions

-provider Raritan, which launched an enhanced version of its analog solution —

Paragon II V4.1, and an improved user station that provides management features

besides offering video screen resolutions over greatest distance.

Paragon II is Raritan's Cat5 enterprise-class, analog access solution. It

provides non-blocked access for up to 64 simultaneous users controlling more

than 10,000 servers, while providing video quality, manageability, response and

security. A suite of management features includes logging and audit trails,

system-wide reset from a user station and a single, consolidated view of all

Paragon connected devices.

DIMM for Servers, Workstations



Kingston Technology Company released its new line of fully buffered DIMM

memory modules (FB-DIMM) for related technology workstation and server

platforms. Kingston's FB-DIMMs comply with JEDEC standards and its

architecture allows up to six memory channels with each channel supporting up to

eight dual-rank memory modules. It allows for two channels to simultaneously

read and write in concurrent -transactions.

The FB-DIMM architecture increases server memory capacity from eight GB to

192GB at a high speed based on a four GB-module configuration. It'll have a

peak bandwidth four times greater than standard DDR2 server modules.

Kingston's FB-DIMMs come with a lifetime warranty and free technical support.

Servers for Efficient Datacenters



As corporate datacenters constantly try to be more -efficient by deploying

the right technologies, high--performance servers stay at the top of their

priority lists. While enabling enterprises to achieve high computing

performance, chip major AMD annou-nced the availability of its AMD Opteron

processor models 256/856, the upgrade to the single-core AMD Opteron processor

family. According to the company, AMD Opteron processors address today's

data-center concerns such as perfor-mance, power efficiency, and TCO. The AMD

Opteron x56 series will provide incremen-tal performance for custo-mers looking

for the best single-threaded application performance.

9th Generation Servers



Dell announced that it is now taking orders for ninth-generation PowerEdge

servers equipped with the highest performing Intel Xeon 5100 series (Woodcrest)

processors. It also announced Platinum Plus-its latest enterprise service with

the highest level of support for server and storage system customers.

Customers can order PowerEdge 1950, 2950, 2900 and 1955 blade servers with

Intel Xeon 5100 series processors that help lower power consumption and can

deliver up to a 152% performance increase over the previous generation 2U Dell

PowerEdge server. These servers meet data center needs by reducing complexity

without burdening customers with the price premium or acquisition cost

previously associated with the platform. The PowerEdge 1955 blades are

engineered to deliver investment protection to customers, leveraging the current

7U chassis and enabling customers to deploy the PowerEdge 1955 side-by-side with

existing PowerEdge 1855 blades.

The new server portfolio also can lower power consumption by up to 25%,

providing an increase in performance per watt of electricity of up to 169% and

addressing customer requirements to reduce the cost and environmental impact of

data center power demands.

Next Generation Server Lab



Sun Microsystems is setting up a showcase lab that would power the R&D

center through utility computing and grid technologies in Bangalore. It will be

a virtually managed and consolidated data center which will have virtualization

and RFID for asset management. RFID would be deployed to track and monitor the

center's 3,000-odd servers and ancillary systems like storage. Sun has been

doing some prolific work in developing some of the company's key products and

solutions in the last five years of its existence in India. The center, which

has over a thousand engineers, has contributed around 220 patents over the last

five years. Around 3,000 sq feet of space has been allotted for the lab which

would be the company's first integrated next generation lab of its kind. Sun

is hoping that the lab would boost the productivity of the engineering center.

The company is also hoping to replicate this lab concept at its R&D center

in the Bay Area, USA.

New Server Management Tool



A new server management and automation control panel tool has been launched

for three operating systems-Windows 2003, Fedora Core IV and CentOS 4.3. With

Ensim Pro X, service providers no longer have to struggle with upgrading Web

pages, bundles and service offerings each time a new version is released. In

addition, the new version delivers over 50 new features that greatly increase

its usability, security and customization. Ensim Pro X delivers impressive new

features and functionality that will help us grow our hosting business, claims

the company. The company claims that Ensim is an industry leader in control

panel functionality, and Pro X is a major demonstration of that leadership for

both Windows and Linux offerings. This will be a major boost to customers in the

web hosting industry.