Bill,
Douglas Nordgren posted this link on the ANCR board that says some of the same things you're saying.
Greg
infoworld.com
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InfiniBand, a switched fabric data-throughput solution with as many as 64,000 nodes, will replace shared buses, allow for multiple cable attachments to optimize data transfer, and will give IT the freedom to spread out the network into task-specific devices, enabling simpler, faster attached storage systems, and eliminating the need for hard drives, or any storage device for that matter, inside the server, according to Jim Pappas, director of initiative marketing for Intel's Fabric Components Division.
"I think most storage and server companies are aware that InfiniBand is coming," said Pappas, who agreed with what many familiar with the industry have been saying for some time that servers are being pulled away from the duties of having to manage storage.
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And now with InfiniBand on the horizon, companies certainly will begin ramping up network solutions that separate servers from storage duties all together.
Evidence of this came last week during an announcement from EMC Corporation. The centerpiece of the announcement was the Symmetrix 8000 series of storage systems capable of holding 19.1TB of data, or just shy of doubling the capacity of that line's predecessor. Company officials believe the new system offers a strong alternative to traditional server-based systems, which he believes are slowly becoming antiquated.
"Servers will continue to play a role for things like data processing, but increasingly we see it as a commodities market. We don't think we will be investing much in them in the future," said Mike Ruettgers, CEO of EMC.
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