TECHNOLOGY OPTIONS
Entry-level Servers: The entry-level servers can be categorized into standard Intel architecture servers (SIAS) and RISC/Unix servers. The typical minimum specs for an SIAS server should include an Intel Pentium 4 processor, up to 533 MHz front-side bus speed, up to 2 GB memory and at least one HDD, besides some manageability tools. Typically, the entry-level severs are in the Rs 1–25 lakh bracket. These servers are ideal in case of non-critical enterprise requirements like e-mail messaging, e-sharing and print-sharing tasks.

l Mid-range Servers: Typically, the mid-range servers can cost somewhere between Rs 25 lakh to Rs 2 crore, depending on whether these are RISC/Unix servers or Intel servers. The usual specs for mid-range Intel servers are up to four Intel Xeon processors, 512 MB–12 GB memory, hot-pluggable 6x 64-bit/100MHz PCI-X (supports 3V or universal PCI adapters), up to 10 high-speed SCSI drives in a RAID configuration. These are ideal for performing multiple functions like departmental applications, files and print and can exist in a cluster configuration. RISC/Unix servers that offer mainframe-like capabilities could be used for large back-end databases. These servers are ideal for consolidating smaller workloads and to host large applications.

l High-end Servers: Typically, these are the mainframes priced in excess of Rs 2 crore, the de facto servers for mission-critical applications. Till recently, this segment used to be dominated by Unix-based servers, while Windows and Intel were relegated to the background. However, off late, the Wintel combination has grown much beyond expectations in this segment only. These servers are ideal for mission-critical applications like database management, data warehousing and e-commerce applications.

l Clustering vs Symmetric Multi-processing (SMP): There are many applications, which can both scale-out and scale-in. Scaled-out is inherently the capability of running across multiple servers, for example, Web servers and mail servers, can all run and scale from a host of servers. Scale in, refers to the scalability within the box, that is, the application demand vertical growth. For example, a typical Oracle database server or any database server or applications, which would run in a single server.

Clustering provides a tool for enterprises today to build a high scalable environment or a very highly scalable database environment using off-the-shelf available products, which are low cost, open and easily available. While SMP servers are expensive, they are good for scaling in for application growth.

However, if the requirement is to have all the application groups within a single server, then there would be no option other than SMP. However, wherever there would be an option the customers are today looking at reducing their TCO and also to reduce the initial investment cost.

Typically, the high-performance technical competing marketplace and the education and research labs are good examples of customers who typically looking at clustering as an alternative to SMP for building high scalability environment.

l Blade Servers: These are ideal for environments where space and electrical power are limited, and powerful processors are not an absolute necessity. Enterprises going for server consolidation might go for blades, especially since these are easier to manage. Adoption of blade servers is increasing quite fast.

These servers are strong on power efficiency, space saving and very easy to manage and maintain. Blade server technology can accommodate 280 servers in a single industry standard rack. Alongside, one could also have dual and Quad CPU Xeon servers in a blades form factor.

l Itanium Processors: Itanium is largely looked at as an alternative to the RISC/Unix market place for customers looking at a different alternatives computing design, which is based on explicit parallel instruction set computing (EPIC) architecture. This provides parallel execution of data, provides a architecture which allows the processor to have more registers for data processing compared to RISC based processors and is also a 64 bit environment. Depending on its acceptance, Itanium platform could either restrict itself to being a niche player or it could straddle the divide between the traditional x86-architecture server space and the RISC-architecture server space and successfully occupy a significant share of the CISC and RISC markets.

l Opteron Processors: Opteron is just an extension to the existing 32-bit processor architecture with some 64 bit functionality like memory addressing etc. Opteron is primarily targeted at the volume market in the 1 or 2 CPU space while Itanium is for customers looking at higher levels of performance, scalability and reliability with the capability to run three different operating systems. Most of Microsoft applications are not easily portable into Opteron.

However, current third-party benchmarks place the Opteron at a significant advantage over the 32-bit Intel server CPUs (Xeon and Xeon MP). Although there has not been a head-to-head comparison between the Opteron and the Itanium (given the difficulties in designing an apples-to-apples comparison), a lot many users are probably wondering whether the advantage (of the Opteron) of backward x86-compatibility does not outweigh the ‘perhaps-not-quite-there’ performance advantage of the Itanium. The adoption of the architecture, first by IBM and more recently by HP and SUN, is certainly excellent endorsement of AMD’s strategy.

l Linux Servers: Linux is an important server OS that is gaining momentum. Initially, it was largely accepted among technical users like the education industry and R&D labs but now its gaining momentum in the commercial marketplace too. Many of he commercial customers do have a Linux strategy and are trying to put some part of their data center or applications that they are using for their organization on the Linux environment today.

Linux is a very good alternative for enterprises looking at providing their applications with an open source and flexible operating system. The fact is that open source does provide the flexibility that research organizations and educational institutions need, for example, to modify the kernel for suiting a particular application need. Lots of Linux-based environments are also chosen in the high performance technical computing marketplace.

l Server Consolidation: Consolidation as a trend is definitely gaining momentum. Today, server vendors are providing servers, which can scale to hundreds of processors and can handle very high number of transactions, storage that can store huge amount of data and also connect to multiple different servers and consolidated management features through which they can manage their entire infrastructure.

Today, solutions are available for providing consolidated solutions for data backup and for data recovery and also for disaster recovery. So with all these technology available, consolidation probably is the best approach to build your data center, coupled with the fact that today the data communication lines prices have also come down substantially. Consolidation is driven by the application, rather than consolidation being an objective in itself. Integrated, enterprise solutions are increasingly being adapted and this will drive the move towards hardware consolidation. The TCO, security, and availability benefits of consolidation are welcome incidentals.