Azaleos has announced Azaleos OneServer: BladeMail, a Microsoft Exchange 2003 appliance which supports up to 17,500 Exchange e-mail users on a single IBM BladeCenter chassis, and is expected to support 70,000 Exchange 2007 users when it becomes available.
The company describes the system as "a turnkey e-mail appliance designed to help companies lower the cost and complexity of running Microsoft Exchange".
Azaleos and IBM demonstrated BladeMail for Microsoft Exchange 2003 on Monday at Microsoft's Tech Ed conference in Boston.
Azaleos said BladeMail runs on IBM BladeCenter hardware and diskless blades supported by its N3700 fabric-attached storage system, making it highly scalable.
The InfoWorld Test Center reviewed OneServer (not the BladeMail) in May.
One of the key features the company highlights is managing Microsoft patches and distributing them automatically after testing:
All patches from Microsoft and Azaleos are provided monthly on a DVD. Azaleos recommends disabling Windows Server Update Services and relying on their DVD to ensure that all patches have been tested for the OneServer environment. Optional management features available from Azaleos include support for Exchange mobility services, anti-virus, and anti-spam — each available for an additional fee. --IW Test Center
The labs summarized:
Cost:
$30,000 for OneServer appliance plus $7 to $9 per mailbox per month; additional costs include SAN hardware and Windows and Exchange licenses
Platforms:
Windows Server 2003; requires separate storage array for mail store
Bottom Line:
OneServer packs a true Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 cluster in an appliance with an easy-to-use front end. The appliance doesn't include storage, but scales up to 2,500 users per cluster and provides a good value for an environment of 500 or more users. Fail-over occurred quickly during our tests, with minimal disruption to users.
BladeMail, which is currently in beta testing, is expected to be generally available for Exchange 2003 in the third quarter of 2006, the company said.
Availability of BladeMail for Exchange 2007 will coincide with Microsoft's release of the product.
We expect to review the product as soon as it becomes availble to us.
Posted by Mike Barton on June 12, 2006 05:37 PM
