Sun and Intel birth grid-ready Sun Fire v60x

Sun and Intel, a marriage we thought we’d never see. Frankly, many of us were asking the obvious, “Why?” Increased brand dominance is the obvious answer, and the Sun Fire v60x — the first product of the Suntel union — does impress.

Free IT resource Virtualization Insights from Top Experts - Learn how virtualization gets real! Sponsored by Dell Free IT resource Try Sun servers, workstations and storage products free for 60-days. Sponsored by Sun Microsystems Sun Fire v60x Sun Microsystems, sun.com Very Good  7.7 criteria score weight Management 8 30% Performance 8 25% Scalability 8 15% Configuration 7 10% Expandability 7 10% Value 7 10% Cost: $4,840 Platforms: Red Hat Linux 7.3 Bottom Line: Surprisingly well-rounded, this Linux-based platform is intended for grid computing and large clustered environments. It makes a dandy do-it-all machine for small busiensses or cash-strapped departments with Linux expertise. About our Reviews and Scoring Methodology

At first blush, you might not look twice at the machine. Funky logo aside, the v60x looks like a typical Intel-based 1U rack-mounted server. But there’s one perceived handicap: It doesn’t support Windows. Sun is sticking to the Unix platform; my version of the Sun Fire supported only Red Hat Lines 7.3, but support is slated for later versions of Red Hat and Solaris 9 for Intel in the future. Purpose? Think grid computing and large rack-based server clusters. And for smaller businesses that happen to have access to Linux expertise, the Sun Fire makes a dandy all-purpose server as well.

Price adds even more shine to the lackluster exterior. My test machine shipped with dual 2.8GHz Xeon CPUs, 1GB of RAM, and dual 36GB Ultra320 hard disks, all for only $4,840. Comparably equipped competition runs at least $1,000 more.

In a trend that spans every server manufacturer, the real value-add to the Sun Fire platform is in software. Sun has obviously put some effort into its SCS (Sun Control Station) 2.0 server management package. I tested a late beta version of SCS 2.0, and this is one of the more intuitive Linux server management packages I’ve seen.

The package’s Java-based interface gives users access to a large number of preinstalled modules all aimed at painless remote management for a large number of Sun Fire systems. Aside from the usual health and monitoring capabilities, SCS also allows you to save and to deploy server images, as well as new packages, across racks instead of boxes.

For Linux-savvy datacenters, the Sun Fire may well become a popular buy simply because it provides Linux horsepower with a low price and a respected brand name.