Sun, Fujitsu Intro 32-Core SPARC Server

Sun Microsystems and Fujitsu Computers hope to speed the performance of certain midrange applications with a new four-socket SPARC-based server.

The T5440, which was jointly developed by the two server vendors, fits up to four UltraSPARC T2 eight-core processors and up to 512 GB of memory into a 4U rack-mount chassis. With 32 processor cores, the T5440 offers up to 256 computing threads.

The T5440 server, which is available from both Sun and Fujitsu, is aimed at applications such as ERP, CRM, databases and online transaction processing, said Nancy Riley, group marketing manager for volume SPARC systems at Sun.

It is also aimed at server consolidation and virtualization, Riley said. The T5440 works with Sun Solaris containers, a software-based virtualization architecture that allows an application to be run in its own virtual machine.

"It's a Solaris 10 box, but you can run Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 applications unchanged in Solaris 10," she said. "So we see this being used for consolidation of some legacy Sun products."

The server also has a hardware-based server virtualization layer that allows multiple operating systems to run on their own logical domains, she said.

The T5440 will provide a cost-effective platform for customers who run such scalable applications as Oracle and SAP on Solaris, said Mark Teter, CTO of Advanced Systems Group, a Denver-based solution provider and Sun partner.

The server fits well in Sun's lineup, right between the two-socket version and the upscale M-series, Teter said. "The T5440 has a built-in hypervisor, and not everyone needs the fault-tolerance and scalability of the M-series," he said.

The T5440 could be used to provide a very cost-effective system to customers running Unix applications on IBM AIX or HP-UX servers, Teter said. "This is a very cost-effective platform for such applications," he said. "Usually, if an application is written for AIX or HP-UX, it runs on Solaris."

The T5440 is available through Sun and Fujitsu starting at $44,995 with two processors, 32 GB of memory and two 146-GB hard drives.