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January 26, 2004
Hardware Today: Unisys Continues to Aim High
By Ben Freeman
Unisys has historically made its money in the mainframe market, so it's not surprising that it is remaining true to its high-end tradition. The company is clear about the importance of its scalable ES7000 line (which is based on Windows and Intel CPUs) and interoperability with its Clearpath mainframe systems.
Given its past, Unisys' strategy is a logical and easy-to-follow two-pronged approach. On one side, it sticks to its mainframe roots. According to John Keller, enterprise systems manager for Unisys, the company's highest selling servers to date are mainframes based on its proprietary MCP (Master Control Program) operating system.
On the other side of the equation, it's developing Intel-based servers in the mid- to high-end range that fill a mainframe space with Windows-based offerings. To round out the server picture, Unisys offers Windows interoperability with its MCP and OS2200-based operating systems, providing various migration points for companies looking to move forward in environments that were traditionally mainframe-based, but are pushing towards a more modular, scale-out formula.
Focusing more on scaling up than scaling out, Unisys has centered its x86 efforts around its ES7000 series. "Unisys has been delivering scalable 32-processor systems since 2000 while competitors are still struggling to deliver that capability today," said Keller. "Unlike IBM, HP, Dell, and Sun," Keller said, "the Unisys ES7000 family of servers is focused on maximizing Windows enterprise capabilities."
Compared to other Windows-based server vendors, Unisys definitely charts its course for a higher altitude in terms of scalability. However, in terms of sheer revenue, the company remains below the Big 5 (IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Dell, and Fujitsu) in server sales and falls into the 14.7 percent market share occupied by the "Other" category in IDC's "Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker" for November 2003.
The ES7000 line (which has price points ranging from $35,000 to $750,000) is divided and then subdivided, which may be confusing at first. "From a technology perspective, the ES7000 family of servers is divided into two series: the 400 Series based on Intel 64-bit processors and the 500 Series based on Intel 32-bit processors," Keller said, adding that each series is subdivided further into Aries and Orion servers. Aries servers are aimed at mid- to high-end environments and include 64-bit Itanium-2 options. Orion servers occupy an even loftier position in its server firmament, allowing for up to 106 mixed Itanium-2, blade, and Xeon processors a single unit.
"Aries servers are primarily for companies looking for Windows-based servers that deliver some level of greater scalability and performance than standard commodity servers. We've termed this 'the Windows growing up' market," Keller said.
Unisys' Orion servers are aimed at companies that want to extend the benefits of standardizing on Windows up into the data center, "but need levels of performance and availability that traditionally could only be achieve with proprietary, high-end, Unix-class systems," Keller said.
By concentrating its development on its high-scale ES7000 modular Wintel server line, Unisys is in a position to make gains if the economy further improves and enterprises become more willing to commit to higher-end Windows systems — where the vendor's strength truly shines. While many companies are still proceeding apace with 2-way 64-bit Itanium-2 offerings, Unisys' minimum offering here is a 4-way server. The depth of Unisys' multiprocessor 64-bit Itanium-2 stable is impressive; it starts with the 4-8 Itanium-2 processor Aries 410 for entry level and goes all the way up to 32 64-bit Itanium-2 processors in a pumped-up Aries 430 model.
Unisys Clearpath systems are divided up in a few ways as well, targeting each segment of the mainframe market. "Our strongest focus is at the mid-range and high-end, where MCP systems have a strong presence in the financial, public sector, communications and commercial segments," according to Mike Hall, manager of Solutions and Services for Unisys' ClearPath Systems Group. Hall adds that the older Clearpath OS2200 line has a strong presence in the same markets as well as the transportation market.
Though the market focus may be moving away from mainframes, Unisys' focus on mainframe development will remain strong enough to support those customers committed to the mainframe path. The vendor's Cellular Multiprocessing technology, which is designed to allow interoperability between its proprietary OS offerings and Windows Adaptive Server (among others), will aid enterprises looking to receive full ROI on their mainframe servers, while moving in a more Wintel-friendly direction.
In its commentary, "Gartner Predicts 2004: The Future of the Mainframe," the research firm said Unisys mainframes will see further virtualization improvements, and advises new customers to steer their enterprises towards Unisys' ES7000 Aries and Orion lines. "The ClearPath mainframe systems remain relevant for established customers, both for continued use to run important business applications and as incremental or upgrade machines. In most cases, customers new to ClearPath should not adopt either OS2200 or MCP for new applications, instead looking to the ES7000 line and the Windows operating environment as the most strategic fit."
Gartner Principal Analyst Jeffrey Hewitt said Unisys faces a challenge in its endeavor to make its MCP architecture a "compelling market story" beyond its legacy mainframe customers. "This is difficult for them, because their true strengths have been in the outsourcing and in the service and support areas around the world. It's been a difficult transition for them to take what they know from mainframes and apply it here and be highly successful," he said.
It's a good strategy if they can execute it," Hewitt said. "But the problem is it's going to be really a massive execution to bring this in and make it a mainstream kind of product, because they're competing against scale-out solutions of 1- and 2-way [servers], which have been growing and penetrating some of these spaces."
Unisys Servers at a Glance
Server Family
Target Deployment
Processor Types
Processor Range
Operating Systems
Servers
ES7000 Aries Wintel servers that scale and perform higher than average, aiming at a typically Unix/mainframe occupied range, with 64-bit options (400 series)
Xeon, Itanium-2
4-16 Xeon, 4-32 Itanium-2
Win200X/AS, SUSE
410,
420,
430,
510,
520,
ES7000 Orion
Similiar to ES7000 Aries, but aimed at higher end/data center, with mainly 32-bit options.
Xeon, Xeon MP, PIII
8-32 Xeon and Xeon MP, 560 allows Itanium-2 and PIII blades up 106 processors.
Win200X/AS, SUSE
530,
540,
550,
560
ES3000 Less extensive, lower end line to augment ES7000 or Clearpath solutions, for "one stop" clients
Xeon, Xeon MP, PIII
1-4 Xeon, Xeon MP, or 1 PIII
Win200X
ES3005 Blade,
ES3020,
ES3020L,
ES3040,
ES3040L
Clearpath (OS2200)
High end mainframes running OS2200, proprietary OS whose Cellular Multiprocessing (CMP) also allows integration of Intel-based processors and OS's. Still updated, but Gartner (and market trends) advise new customers to shop the ES7000 line.
proprietary Instruction Processors (IP's)
1-32 IP's, plus 1-24 Intel
OS 2200, with Windows AS, SUSE, or UnixWare.
Dorado 110,
Dorado 140,
Dorado 180,
IX6620
Clearpath (MCP) High end mainframes running MCP, proprietary OS with CMP for Intel integration. Also features virtualization software to intermix Windows and mainframe workloads. Still updated; see Clearpath (OS2200). proprietary CMOS processors, additional onboard Intel CPU's
1-32 CMOS, 1-24 Intel MCP, MCPvm, Windows 200X AS/DC, Unixware, SUSE CS7201,
Libra 180,
Libra 185
LX140 Laptop,
LX6000 ,
LX7100,
NX6820,
NX6830
Intel-based (ES7000/ES3000) Servers
Server Family
Server
Target Deployment
Processor Type
Processor Range
Operating Systems
ES7000
Enterprise
Aries 510
entry level rack for departments, data centers
Xeon
4,6 or 8
Win200X/AS, data center,
SUSE
Aries 520
mid-range for data center
8 to 16
Win200X/AS/data center,
SUSE
Orion 530
scalable mid-range enterprise for clusters
8 to 16
200X data center
Orion 540
scalable beyond typical Intel range
16 to 32
200X/AS/data center,
SUSE
Orion 550
scalable for mission critical apps, large DB's
Xeon plus PCI PIII blades
16 to 32 , up to 42 Pentium III blades
200X/AS/data center,
SUSE
Orion 560
"N-Tiers in a box"-- allows combination of disparate Intel microprocessors
Xeon MP, Itanium, Pentium
up to 106 processors, (32 Intel Xeon MP, 32 Itanium 2, and 42 Intel Pentium PCI Blades)
200X/AS/data center (32), 2003 Enterprise (32/64)
2003 data center (32/64),
SUSE
Aries 410
64-bit entry level, for developing new apps and rapidly growing DB's
Itanium 2
4-8 2003, Enterprise (64),
2003, data center (64),
SUSE
Aries 420
64-bit, deploying large-scale DB's
8, 12 or 16
Aries 430
64-bit, develop/deploy mission-critical
apps, large DB's
8 to 32
ES3000
Midrange
Servers
ES3020 workgroup server for SMB
Xeon
1-2
2000, 2000 AS
ES3020L Rack version of 3020
ES3005 Blade Server
PIII based blade in enclosure of up to 6
Pentium III
1
2000 Server,
2003 Standard/Web
ES3040
tower or rackmount 7U business-critical server, for data center, etc.
Xeon MP (Gallatin) 1-4
Win2000/AS
ES3040L
4U version of 3040, ideal for clustering, data center, etc.
Clearpath Mainframe Servers
Server Family
Model
Target Deployment
Processor Types
Processor Range
OS
Clearpath Plus for OS2200 Dorado 110 entry-level
proprietary Instruction Processor(IP), Intel
IP: 1, Intel: 1-8
OS2200, Win, SUSE
Dorado 140 mid-range
IP: 1-6, Intel: 1-24
Dorado 180 high-end
IP: 1-32, Intel: 1-24
ClearPath IX Servers IX6620 mid-range enterprise
IP, Intel
1-4 IP's, 1-4 Intel
Clearpath Plus for MCP CS7201 mid-range "modern" mainframe
Xeon or PIII
1-32
MCP, MCPvm virtualization, Win2000AS, SUSE
Libra 180 "modern" mainframe- for high end
MCP, Intel 1-40 MCP, 1-24 Intel
Libra 185 most powerful of Unisys' "modern" mainframe designs- for high end
MCP, Intel
1-32 MCP, 1-24 Intel
LX Servers LX140 Laptop Intel-based laptop for MCP developers
LX6000 compact, entry range Intel based server for MCP/Win2000AS environment at your desk
Xeon
2-4
LX7100 more robust Intel-based server for MCP environment
Xeon 2-4
NX Servers NX6820, NX6830 mid-range to high end; dual OS MCP/Windows 2000 AS (or NT) migration point for earlier A and NX-series servers
IP, Intel
1-8 IP, 1-10 Intel (more can be added)
To fill in the gaps between mainframe and high-end enterprise offerings, Unisys rounds out the stable with its less-ballyhooed ES3000 line. With price points ranging from $4,000 to $80,000, the ES3000 line tangentially covers the scale-out range, referred to as the current market "sweet spot" by some vendors and analysts. Unisys, however, sees that range as supplemental to ES7000 or mainframe usage, and few Unisys customers deploy just ES3000 servers, Keller said.
Another area in which the vendor makes a slightly hesitant offering is in alternatives to its Windows operating system base. While Unisys has also certified SUSE for its Windows-friendly ES7000 line, it has apparent reservations about the efficacy of Linux-based solutions in their market range. In what would have been fighting words at last week's LinuxWorld Expo, Keller said, "Today Linux is unproven as a mission-critical, enterprise-class operating system. We recognize that there will be cases where clients require Linux on the ES7000 to complement the primary solution," noting that Unisys has directly partnered with SUSE for Linux support. "Unisys continues to monitor the maturity of Linux in general and reassesses our position on a regular basis."
Gartner's Hewitt suggests that a reassessment maybe in order. Offering Windows to a UNIX-weaned mainframe crowd, he contends, opens up a different can of worms. "Windows has yet to really be accepted as a mature operating system as the Unixes are," Hewitt said. "Windows is not accepted that way; the perception isn't there. It's difficult to fight that perception and say Windows is on that level."
Hewitt further sees Unisys' reluctant entry to the Linux market as problematic." The one area that I think they've lagged behind here, a little bit, is Linux. They certainly could have capitalized more on that area to show they've got a server that can handle Linux at these levels," he said.
The SUSE Linux support offered seems to round out Unisys' server line in a manner similar to the vendor's lower-end ES3000 server line. However, if its focus remains on scaling up to 32 Intel servers, more enthusiastic Linux support would seem likely.
Given that the vendor's server offerings actually do cover the areas in question, any critique of the line would really be leveled at Unisys' message, rather than its substance.
Gartner's Hewitt contends that if Unisys remains focused on its core scale-up strengths, while refining the messaging surrounding Linux and its lower-end servers, it will grow into an increasingly viable strategy. |
