Tony - IBM talks about your favourite subject - RAS - in relationship to their Intel- Server Chip set.
""We couldn't find the RAS [reliability, availability, scalability] we wanted from other suppliers," he said. "
Paul
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IBM Plans To Bring Mainframe Features To Wintel Server Line
(URL: crn.com
By Joseph F. Kovar
CRN
Las Vegas
9:35 AM EST Wed., Nov. 14, 2001
IBM has prepared a chipset that the company expects will bring mainframe-class reliability to its Intel processor-based xSeries servers, just as soon as Intel releases its Foster IA-32 processor.
IBM took advantage of Comdex, held here this week, to introduce the chipset, which brings reliability, availability, scalability and performance characteristics from its mainframe line down to the entry-level server space, according to Tom Bradicich, director of server architecture and technology for IBM's Server Group.
Bradicich said servers have four basic parts: the processor, memory, I/O and the chipset. However, only the latter allows any differentiation, as the other parts are commodity products, which is why IBM started developing its own chipset three years ago. "We couldn't find the RAS [reliability, availability, scalability] we wanted from other suppliers," he said.
The chipset, the basis for IBM's Enterprise X-architecture, allows the xSeries servers to be partitioned into one-, two-, four- or eight-way servers, or configured as an SMP server with up to 16 processors, said Bradicich.
Servers can also be connected and detached as needed, depending on the application and the environment, Bradicich said. For instance, two four-way servers could be connected as an eight-way server during spikes in service needs and then broken down into smaller servers later, he said. "There is a tremendous flexibility no other chipset can do with the Intel CPU," he said.
IBM is also borrowing a page from its mainframe and Unix servers by offering redundant bit steering to protect memory in its IA-32-based servers, said Bradicich. While most servers have the ability to recover from a bad bit of data several times, the Enterprise X-architecture identifies a failing chip and allows it to be hot-swapped, he said.
The company also plans to offer an I/O expansion box, which allows up to 12 slots to be added to the server. Those slots could be connected at up to eight meters away, Bradicich said.
The new chipset was also planned with the eventual release of Intel's McKinley IA-64 processor, said Bradicich. "When the IA-64 comes out, 80 percent of the chipset's functions will already be in place for the processor," he said. "When new technology like the IA-64 comes along, it goes to the data centers, while clients and customers fear the new. We can say 80 percent of the chipset is already proven for the IA-64."
IBM this week also introduced enhancements to its Director server management software application for xSeries servers, Bradicich said. Included are the partitioning capability, a PCI slot optimizer that automatically determines the optimal configuration of PCI slots, as well as a software rejuvenation feature that helps predict when system software will hang and offers users a choice of manual or automatic work-arounds, he said. |
