Sun Microsystems on Tuesday introduced a line of servers
based on Intel's Nehalem microarchitecture and a networking module
that plugs into a blade chassis and reduces the need to buy
switching hardware from vendors such as Cisco.
The Virtual Network Express Module was released about a month
after Cisco introduced its own blade server for the data center,
entering into direct competition with Sun, Dell (Dell),
Hewlett-Packard, and IBM. The latter two companies dominate the
blade server market.
In addition to launching NEM, Sun also introduced its line of
servers powered by Intel's new Xeon 5500 processors, which are
built on Nehalem. Two of the servers are the first from Sun to
incorporate a flash storage module that sits close to
microprocessors and reduces latency by boosting input/output
speeds. The module, which has a capacity of only 24 GB, works in
conjunction with hard disks and solid-state drives.
The Sun NEM works with existing servers and the new ones. The
module connects to the blades within a chassis through a PCI
Express backplane and simplifies the computing environment by
eliminating the cabling that would normally be used to connect the
servers to an aggregation switch. Sun claims using the technology
can reduce cabling by 84%, switches by 97%, and rack space by
75%.
The trade-off is not having the additional features available in
a separate switch. Sun, however, is hoping the NEM, which is priced
at $4,999, will offer enough functionality to serve the needs of
many organizations. In offering the switch alternative, Sun is
firing back at Cisco's recently announced Unified Computing System,
a series of blade server products that include storage capabilities
along with virtualization and server management software.
Sun's new flash storage module is being offered with its new 1U
Sun Fire X2270 rack-mount server and the Sun Blade X6275, which is
built for high-performance computing. Prices for the systems start
at $1,488 and $8,779, respectively. Each server can hold up to two
modules, which plug into the motherboard much like a standard DIMM
module.
Other Nehalem-based systems introduced by Sun include the Sun
Blade 6048, a high-performance computing system that uses quad data
rate InfiniBand for all interconnects. The 6048 chassis with one
server module starts at $43,520. The remaining systems include the
Sun Fire X4170, X4270, and X4275 rack-mount servers, which start at
$1,488, and the Sun Blade X6270.
All of Sun's systems can be configured to run Linux, Windows,
Solaris, or OpenSolaris operating systems.
Sun's latest product launch comes in the midst of reported
merger talks with IBM. The discussions, however, reached an impasse
this month over price and Sun's insistence that it consider other
proposals, according to several published reports.