Server and Storage Advancements

Fujitsu Ltd. and Sun Microsystems Inc. announced new SPARC servers based on the Niagara 2 processor chips. EMC Corp. unveiled new encryption offerings for data at rest.

Focal Points:

• Fujitsu and Sun expanded their SPARC enterprise server line with the introduction of two new systems, the SPARC Enterprise T5140 and T5240 servers, based on the Niagara 2 processor. The servers deliver up to 16 times higher compute density than competitive two-socket x86 systems and up to 32 times higher compute density than competitive four-socket x86 systems, according to company executives. The servers also provide up to three times more performance than competitive RISC systems in half the space, officials claimed. The servers feature up to 128 compute threads in compact one- or two-rack units and two to four times more memory and internal disk capacity than competitive x86 systems. In terms of energy conservation, these servers deliver 2.5 times the performance per Watt than x86 servers. The 1U (1.75-inch) T5140 system with two serial-attached SCSI (SAS) 146 GB hard disk drives and 8 GB of RAM starts at $14,995. The 2U (3.5-inch) T5240 system with the same configuration starts at $17,995 and can scale up to 128GB of RAM and 16 SAS drives. The servers are generally available now.
• The companies also announced new offerings providing virtualization services to run Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 applications and helping enable the simple transfer of applications to the latest chip multi-threading technology (CMT) systems running the Solaris 10 OS. The new products, Solaris 8 and 9 Containers for the Solaris 10 OS, allow for multiple Solaris 8 or Solaris 9 environments, or a combination of the two, to be hosted on a single SPARC-based system. Officials claim moving to the latest hardware is now de-coupled from the need to move directly to the Solaris 10 OS, allowing customers to take advantage of the performance, scale and cost savings of the T5140 and T5240 servers.
• EMC announced three new security offerings for data at rest. Its PowerPath Encryption with RSA solution enables data storage on disk arrays to be encrypted. The software supports Clariion and Symmetrix storage arrays as well as open systems platforms. Support for Sun Solaris and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows will be available before end of 2Q08. The Connectrix Storage Media Encryption (SME) offering enables data stored on open systems tape libraries to be encrypted and protects information in the event of theft or loss of backup media. The RSA Key Manager for the Datacenter is a new server appliance that allows central administration of policy-based encryption key management. The product is pre-configured for out-of-box initialization, offers recommended configuration in redundant pairs for no single point of failure, and supports database failover and replication.

Experton Group believes enterprise server advancements, such as the Sun containers, will continue to differentiate these processors from commodity servers and demonstrate their value proposition. Given the large number of security breaches companies are encountering, IT executives should put security solutions for data at rest and in transit amongst their top corporate initiatives. While Sun remains a top enterprise server vendor, it still struggles to regain its former glory. These servers will keep them in the game but given the competitiveness of the environment, the company will have to offer deep discounts to win much of its business and thus not achieve the margins of its main competitors. EMC's encryption offerings should be viewed as a first step toward a full solution that addresses data at rest and in transit.

IT executives need to understand the value proposition of enterprise servers and should employ them wherever they can. Consolidation, modernization, and virtualization should be the corporate direction, as elimination of server sprawl and outdated hardware will reduce operational costs and improve productivity.