Paul, Re: "Here's another Major vendor - Hitachi - already lining up behind the ITanium - "preannouncing" 32-way ITanium servers !"
Looks like Hitachi has put a lot of development into these servers:
- Hitachi developed chipsets: Hitachi's Itanium(TM) processor-based servers will comprise a broad-based lineup that includes 4-way and 2-way
servers as well as 32-way and 8-way servers using Hitachi's own chipset.
- SMP architecture, with their chipset as glue, of course The 32-way server, which uses advanced SMP technologies, will
provide high scalability.
- Multiple operating systems per server Cluster systems utilizing "InfiniBand(TM)" architecture are being planned. Plans are currently underway to use of
multiple operating systems technology on one server (logical partitioning), which will allow servers to be
consolidated and to be load- balanced, reducing TCO. The strengthening high reliability and high availability
technology will provide stable system operation. These are undoubtedly dynamically reconfigurable. I'm used to the term domains, where each domain looks like a standalone server. With this architecture, they can capture the front end, application layer and back office in the same machine, whereas a customer may have to buy two or three machines from potentially different vendors to do the same functions as one Hitachi.
- and, of course, RAS rapid
customer support and service availability, complete reliability, high availability, total system administration and a dramatic
reduction in TCO.
This is not your typical server where a vendor slaps together a bunch of other vendors' (Intel, IBM, Seagate, nVidia, whatever) subsystems in a box and puts their label on it. It's a real architected system, although it does borrow from a lot of mainframe architectures, like the author says.
Should be a good one. Where's HP?
Tony
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