dmf & Intel Investors - Re: "Do we know anything about the actual servers being used in Santa Clara and Fairfax County (18,000 together!)? "
We DO NOW !
Looks like Intel is using Dell Servers (x86 & Windows NT) and SUN Servers - for UNIX applications, scalability, etc !
"Intel is purchasing the servers made by Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) and allowing customers to pick the software they want to run on the machines. "
"That Intel would offer its customers the choice of using Sun hardware is interesting since the company is a longtime competitor and doesn't use its chips. "The reality is some (customers) prefer Sun," Aymar said. "
How's that for covering the bases ?
Paul
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09/28 12:35P (DJ) Intel Opens Web Hosting Centers As Company Moves Beyond Chips
Story 0600 (DELC-D, DELL, INTC-D, INTC, SUNW, I/CPM, I/CPR, I/SEM, N/DJN...) By Christopher Grimes, Staff Reporter NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)-
Intel Corp. said Tuesday it has opened the first of 12 expected Internet hosting centers, marking the chip giant's first significant move away from building computer gear and toward providing services. The first center, in Santa Clara, Calif., is an 85,000-square-foot facility that is capable of holding 10,000 computer servers, the brawny machines that act as traffic cops for the Internet. Intel (INTC) hopes to sell customers on the idea that they don't have to buy or maintain these expensive machines themselves. "Fewer and fewer people are going to want to do internal (Web) hosting," said Mike Aymar, general manager of Intel Online Services, the division in charge of the hosting centers. "More and more people are interested in outsourcing."
Early customers include the e-Citi unit of Citigroup Inc. (C), Excite@Home's (ATHM) Excite@Home Shopping Service and NEC Corp. (NIPNY). Intel wouldn't disclose how much it is charging for this service, saying only that its fee is "competitive." Intel outlined the program earlier this year, puzzling some of the company's longtime observers who thought the chip maker had no competency in the area. Several companies already offer such services including International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), GTE Corp. (GTE), Qwest Communications International Inc. (QWST) and Verio Inc. (VRIO).
Intel cited market research claiming the market for Web hosting totaling between $10 billion and $25 billion by 2003. But Intel claims it does have experience in this area. The company is taking its "copy exactly" concept - which dictates that everything in its chip factories around the world be exactly the same, down to the paint - and applying it to the Web-hosting facilities. The company intends to spend well over $1 billion to deploy the Web hosting centers over the next 12 months.
Aymar acknowledged that Intel still encounters skepticism about its move into Web hosting. "We're pretty confident we have quite a good pedigree in this area," Aymar said. He added the company is offering a different business model than its competitors. Intel is purchasing the servers made by Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) and allowing customers to pick the software they want to run on the machines. Other companies offering Web hosting simply run machines their customers already own, Intel said.
That Intel would offer its customers the choice of using Sun hardware is interesting since the company is a longtime competitor and doesn't use its chips. "The reality is some (customers) prefer Sun," Aymar said. Intel also opened a development facility in Folsom, Calif., where new systems are tested. The company plans to open 12 centers world-wide by the end of next year. Aymar said Intel is planning to open a 73,000-square-foot facility in Fairfax, Va., in the first quarter of 2000, followed by one in England and one in Japan.
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