Paul, Re: "IBM also is working
with Windows NT
maker Microsoft on a
technology called
OnForever that let
users "hot swap" not
just hard disk drives
but also fans, power
supplies, memory, and
even processors."
This is yet more infrastructure built around Intel server chips, in this case for availability, that builds the wall ever so much higher against any competitors' chips being used in serious servers. This is not to say that a hot swappable feature couldn't be designed by IBM that uses an AMD K7, for example. However, when hot swappable CPU is added to all the other requirements, or nice-to-haves for servers set up by the OEMs, like electrical protocol and mechanical connection to the motherboard, >2 way SMP, best of breed reliability in FITs, ECC memory, Landesk and many more items, it will be Intel-only inside servers for a long, long time.
Tony |
