Former Compaq execs launch server company

A new server company headed by former executives from Compaq will take aim at users who need slim servers with low power consumption to beef up their Internet and corporate data centers.

RLX Technologies, which officially launched recently after a year in the planning and development stages, intends to offer thin servers that may take up even less than the single rack space required by the current thin offerings. RLX claims the new servers will also use less than half the power required by traditional servers. RLX executives say the company will also offer network and storage products, but would not reveal any details.

Code-named Razor, RLX's server will feature Transmeta's new Crusoe chip, which is designed to bring power consumption to an all-time low. Chris Hipp, co-founder and chief technology officer of RLX, did not provide any additional details on the server, but says Razor will be released as an appliance and in a more general version. The appliance will be preconfigured to run Web applications, while the generic offering will give end users the flexibility to configure the server to suit their needs.

The company's CEO, Gary Stimac, is a former senior executive at Compaq, and COO Michael Swavely served as president of Compaq's North America operations. Others on the management team include executives from Dell and Sun.

John Humphreys, an analyst with IDC, says RLX has a good chance at survival because it is approaching users with some features they cannot find elsewhere - at least for the time being. Key features such as a processor, components and software that reduce power consumption will solve some of the problems users face in a time when energy and real estate costs in data centers are high.

"Last year was the year of the rack-optimized server. Every one jumped into the market with thin, dense servers to address the needs of data centers and service providers. By the end of the year, all the big guys were announcing products with the idea of getting as many servers in the rack. Now the question is, what's next? The costs are power and real estate," Humphreys says. "RLX has to be first to market [with an answer to those costs], entrench themselves with customers and make a name for themselves. There's nothing to stop the IBMs of the world from doing the same thing, but it could take them three to six months [to catch up]."

IDC research indicates that RLX also faces some big-name competitors - IBM, Sun, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Network Engines having thin and appliance server boxes. In the first quarter of 2000, 14% of Intel-based servers shipped were rack-optimized. By the third quarter, 25% of shipments were designed to fit into tight spaces.

RLX: www.rlxtechnologies.com