Paul, interesting article about IBM's Summit. Obviously IBM sees Intel server chips as being worthy CPUs for highly available, enterprise type systems. Some key features that I think IBM will be including to differentiate their Foster based servers from other OEMs', from that article and other articles I've read:
1. High availability features beyond hot swap PCI cards, power supplies, fans, like hot swap memory and, maybe hot swap CPUs, or CPU modules.
2. PCI-X and Infiniband (latter probably much later). Others are doing these also.
3. Self-managing system from network to storage management. Undoubtedly remote, or lights out management, probably also demand driven self reconfiguration or re-allocation of resources.
They also are developing Summit architecture/chipsets for Itanium (McKinley flavor?).
Based on an IDC report, the number of servers using Intel microprocessors under the $150,000 price range would amount to about 80 percent by 2003. By 2004, 60 percent of all servers will be using Intel chips.
This would be good. I wonder what the numbers are today.
Tony |
