Low-end <a href="javascript:winPop('http://www.infoworld.com/klink/servers/servers.html?w=servers');" class="richlinkstyle">servers</a> live!
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Low-end servers live!
By
Tom Yager
November 22, 2002
CONSOLIDATION AND FEDERATION are the watchwords of the new, new IT economy. This time, customers are defining the vocabulary, telling vendors in effect, "If you're not careful, you (Sun, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, take your pick) will get consolidated and federated right out of our server room."
After a brief period of confusion and trepidation, a few major vendors have absorbed the lesson. In particular, Intel and IBM have started things rolling with new Xeon DP and Power4+ server architectures. Next year should usher in unprecedented advances in server technology.
At Comdex, Intel feted Gartner for projecting that Intel's 32-bit architecture (IA-32) will lead the server market in 2003. Not just in unit sales as it has always done, but also in dollar volume. We think Gartner is right, but we're bullish on Intel not because trends predict it, but because of an abrupt and decisive shift in strategy that will be felt well beyond the reaches of Winteldom. We call it Intel's November Surprise. The full scope and import of this event will take us more space than this to explain. Here, we'll stick to the basics.
Ahead of schedule, Intel unleashed a new line of Xeon CPUs, chip sets, motherboards, and enterprise-grade enclosures for dual-processor servers and workstations. For the first time, Intel has defined a baseline standard for its 32-bit server architecture that matches or exceeds traditional design wins of low-end Unix servers.
All servers based on Intel's new Xeon DP (dual-processor) architecture will share some impressive performance characteristics: Dual 2.8GHz CPUs with Hyper-Threading, a 533MHz bus, six 64-bit PCI-X slots, six sockets for dual channel 266MHz DDR memory, Ultra320 SCSI (or IDE RAID), dual Gigabit Ethernet, and up to six USB 2.0 ports. Intel combines these nice specs with firmware management features that look like a page from IBM's autonomic computing cookbook. Intel designed Xeon DP to get itself out of trouble whenever it can and to call for help when needed. For repairs, Intel's diagnostics zero in on the failed part and walk the technician through the fix, step by step. If the system is integrated into an Intel enclosure, its monitoring, notification, diagnostics, and repair software watches chassis components such as fans, power supplies, and the tamper switch.
Why all the fuss? Because at long last, Intel-based servers aren't just desktop PCs in rack enclosures. Most of Xeon's management features are handled in firmware by a specialized processor. A machine doesn't have to boot, or even power up, to issue notifications and submit to remote management. That's what IT expects from Unix servers and from high-markup PC boxes from the likes of Dell and IBM. Now businesses can buy enterprise-grade entry servers from discount vendors without sacrificing necessary availability and manageability features.
Beyond Xeon
Of course Xeon isn't the only game in town. Intel's own Itanium 2 will finally get a kick in 2003. We saw several systems at Comdex, including a beast from NEC with 32 processors. AMD demonstrated four-way Opteron (aka Hammer) systems at Comdex, and the company could unleash some surprises of its own during the first half of 2003. AMD realizes it can't string customers along on Hammer any longer. It's put up or shut up time, and we think AMD is ready to put up.
Setting aside what might happen next year, we already know there is a new player in the mix: Apple. The Power PC, G4-based Mac line is more than a mere fashion statement. It rips the price floor out from under established Unix nameplates. That's what they get for making fun of NeXT.
The pedestal, dual-processor 1.25GHz Power Mac G4 runs Mac OS X Server perfectly well, and it's a better value than the sleek rack-mounted Xserve. However, Xserve is much closer to ideal than any vendor's first 1U server. If you take Xserve and add SCSI and out-of-band management, you've got a sweet little server. True, things are shaky at Motorola, but Apple is prepared to jump architectures if it has to; almost any processor that's supported by the GNU compilers can host Darwin, the open-source core of OS X. That's a long, comforting list. If Apple stays smart, the lion's share of the entry DP server market could wind up split between Xeon and the next Xserve.
Not soft in the middle
In the midrange category, our early pick is IBM's Power4+ architecture. The first systems to feature this updated 64-bit RISC technology are the pSeries 650 machines. At $32,000, the dual-processor 1.2GHz pSeries 650 isn't exactly Intel priced, but it sets a new low for 64-bit Unix servers. The eight-way 1.45GHz p650 is a comparative bargain at $130,000. These are discounted express configurations that come out of the box ready to run AIX. Linux support is planned for next year.
Xeon DP, Power Mac G4, and IBM Power4+ represent significant departures for these three vendors, and for the low-end to midrange markets in general. Larger manufacturers are probably unhappy that Intel is giving away major-brand-grade management tools to smaller white box integrators. But customers should be delighted, and they should encourage Intel to get more involved in Xeon MP (four-plus CPU systems) architectures as well. Apple and IBM are revitalizing the Power RISC architecture from the bottom and the top. As everyone pushes toward the middle, prices will drop and enterprise requirements will be reflected in servers at all price levels.
IT, keep up the good work.
BOTTOM LINE
Next-generation server hardware
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
If you're looking for silver linings, look to market-leading server hardware from Intel, Apple, and IBM. AMD is in the wings, too, but there is enough visible progress in affordable servers to give IT cause to celebrate (and spend).
TEST CENTER PERSPECTIVE
Intel and Apple are reshaping servers from the bottom up with Xeon DP and Power Mac G4/Xserve, and IBM is pushing down from the top with Power4+. Sun and others will follow suit, creating a new breed of cheap, interoperable, and resilient servers.
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