Server and Storage News

Sun Microsystems Inc. and Fujitsu Ltd. revealed a new SPARC-based enterprise server. On the storage front, IBM Corp. and Teradata Corp. announced new storage products.

Focal Points:

• Fujitsu and Sun jointly announced the next generation of new midrange servers based on the UltraSPARC T2 Plus processor. The companies claim the SPARC Enterprise T5440 server is geared toward mid-market and enterprise companies that want to run database and CRM applications within their data center infrastructure. The T5440 is a 4U system that supports two or four UltraSPARC T2 plus processor, whose clock speeds are a modest 1.2GHz and 1.4GHz. The system will support up to 256 compute threads, 512GB of main memory and four 146GB SAS disks of internal data storage. The T5440 runs Linux and Sun's Solaris 10 operating system, which can support up to 128 different virtual environments in one system. The system is available now and has an entry price of $44,995 for a two-socket system.
• IBM announced the IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller (SVC) would be available in an entry edition on Nov. 21. The SVC Entry Edition or SVC EE is limited to a maximum of 60 disk drives. It has a lower cost hardware platform, the 2145-8A4, that offers 60 percent of the throughput of the current 2145-8G4 and is priced at 60 percent of the latter's list price. The software pricing has been reduced as well, according to the company. IBM is also announcing the interoperability of SVC with the new IBM XIV Storage System, the IBM System Storage DS5000 and the IBM System z/VSE. New interoperability support for SVC also includes Microsoft Corp.'s Hyper-V, Hitachi Data Systems' HDS Universal Storage Platform and Hewlett-Packard Co.'s XP20000/XP24000. In addition, IBM Global Financing (IGF) is offering "Why Wait," a no interest no payments for 90 days deferral plan, to support eligible customers acquiring IBM System Storage now through the end of 2008.
• Teradata unveiled a new appliance, the Extreme Data Appliance 1550, which supports 50 petabytes of data at a price-point of $16,500 per terabyte. It is a purpose-built analytical platform positioned for a small group of users that have specialized analytics requirements. It enables those users to perform analysis on massive volumes of data, such as Web site click streams, RFID product movement and cell phone network usage, officials stated. Teradata also revealed version 13.0 of the Teradata Database, which has 75 new features. The biggest of the enhancements is new storage virtualization technology, which manages storage data retrieval and places the most frequently used data on the fastest storage. "Cold data" – i.e., rarely-used data – is placed on the slowest storage without user or administrator intervention. The database will be generally available in 2009. The company also showcased a prototype of technology using solid state disk drives (SSDs) that executives hope will be available to enterprises by 2011.

Experton Group believes vendors are now seeking to expand or protect their markets through performance and price sensitive offerings. Mid-market companies and departmental users are viewed as key growth markets but will be highly competitive. Although with the current economic turmoil, vendors will become more selective in targeting buyers. To meet these requirements some of the hardware will consist of inexpensive, slower performing components. IT executives should leverage their buying power by working with their vendors and their financial arms to structure corporate-wide deals (leases, purchases, or sale/leasebacks) that provide them with the best financial terms. A switch to enterprise-wide deals versus the traditional transactional ones should yield better results, get IT more in tune with Finance objectives, and improve relationships.