LANs /

More hyperdense servers roll out

By Deni Connor
Network World Servers Newsletter, 05/21/01

RLX Technologies and Compaq rolled out low-power, ultradense servers at NetWorld+Interop that analysts say will spread quickly through already space-constrained, energy-conscious Internet data centers before they are used in the enterprise.

The servers are among the first of many that vendors will ship for data centers and service providers that are tight on space and want to economize on electrical power. The servers consume as much as 15% less power and are up to nine times more dense than traditional rack-mounted servers.

RLX and Compaq are not the first, nor will they be the last companies to introduce hyperdense servers. Last month, OmniCluster, an IBM spinout, shipped its SlotServer 1000, a 10-watt machine that runs Windows NT/2000, Red Hat Linux or BSD. FibreCycle and eGenera have dense, low-powered servers; Amphus is working on one.

Intel also is pitching in to help system vendors manufacture slim servers based on its .13 micron Tualatin technology, which runs at a high frequency on lower power.

Server blades consist of a CPU, RAM, disk space and Ethernet support mounted on an adapter that fits in existing PCI slots of other computers or in a rack-mounted chassis. They are constrained only by the number of slots in a CPU or chassis. RLX claims a standard 42u (73.5-inch) rack will hold up to 336 of its server blades. Formerly, a standard rack held as many as 84 compact 1u (1.75 inches), normal power servers.

Server blades also use from 10 watts to 15 watts of power, as much as 15 times less than 1u servers. For instance, the 1u Sun Cobalt RaQ 4i server consumes 60 watts; the Dell PowerEdge 350 consumes 120 watts.

Blade computers are able to process more Web pages per second than rack-mount servers, RLX claims. For instance, the RLX System 324 processes 1,466 Web pages per second per server, compared to 208 for a Sun Cobalt RaQ 4i appliance.

Analysts say the market for server blades is especially large for service providers, where heat and space are a concern. "The server blade is an extension of the dense, rack-optimized server," says John Humphries, an analyst with IDC. "It's taking density to the nth degree."

While there is no current research in the area, the use of the blades is expected to be limited. "The blade architecture will appeal to large service providers that have limited space," Humphries says. "As these [server blade] companies start to wrap dynamic provisioning software and load-balancing around their servers, the blades will start appealing to the enterprise. They will switch the functions of a server based on the varying demand that will be placed on them."

RLX's System 324 is shipping. It consists of a Transmeta Crusoe processor, IBM disk drives and three Ethernet adapters - two for connections to the Internet and the other for attaching to a private intranet. The System 324 can run Windows 2000, using the just-released Microsoft Server Appliance Kit 2.0, or Red Hat Linux. RLX has built a 3u (5.25-inch high) chassis that accommodates as many as 24 server blades.

Each System 324 server blade consumes 15 watts of power and can support up to 20 terabytes of storage. The System 324 comes preloaded with Windows- or Linux-based Web server software and includes redundant, hot swappable power supplies. The blades themselves are also hot-pluggable and redundant. IBM has announced that it will resell the RLX servers.

Compaq's first QuickBlade server, which will ship later this year, uses an Intel processor with Error Correcting memory, two Ethernet adapters and a disk drive. Subsequent Compaq servers will use the upcoming Intel Tualatin processor.

RLX is focusing primarily on Web servers in the first tier of the typical Internet infrastructure. Compaq is designing its servers to fit in all three tiers - as a first-tier Web, firewall or caching server, a second-tier application server, or as a back-end database server for Internet data centers or service providers that host small, low-traffic companies. OmniCluster is developing machines for enterprise server farms and data centers.

RLX System 324 server blades start at $1,720; the RLX chassis starts at $2,600.

RLX is at www.rlxtechnologies.com

Compaq is at www.compaq.com

OmniCluster is at www.omnicluster.com