Intel Says Inspired By Napster To Change IT Systems

U.S. chip maker Intel said on Tuesday it has been inspired by song-swapping Internet service Napster and free operating system Linux to overhaul some of its technology infrastructure.

Despite Napster's short-lived success--it has been idle since July after stumbling over legal and technical issues--the technology behind it helped Intel to limit expensive network bills, Intel's vice president for Information Technology, Doug Busch, says.

The world's largest semiconductor company often needs to send large multimedia computer files to its employees across the globe, containing information such as manuals or video messages.

But Intel simply cannot afford to send all these files from its Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters over the worldwide Internet, running up a huge telecom bills, Busch says.

Shortly after Napster began breaking through, some 18 months ago now, Intel began to develop its own software that, like Napster, would allow employees to download certain files from each other's computers.

"Absolutely," Busch said, when asked whether he was inspired by Napster. "I couldn't afford to send big files over the wide area network. It didn't fit into my budget. Now employees just look for the file on a PC closest to theirs, which can be in the same office. It's cheaper. It's faster."

Intel's peer-to-peer network improved performance and reduced costs by around 10 times, he says, adding storage costs on PCs were also 10 times cheaper than on big central servers.

Alternatives designed to reduce network bills, such as caching servers that store popular files on computers around the world, are not attractive for Intel, which has many small offices. Intel would need contracts with different caching companies, offering little added value, Busch says.

More Inspiration From The Internet

The free operating system Linux was another unexpected result from ad hoc Internet collaboration that has been embraced by Intel, saving the chip maker $200 million, Busch says. The company ditched expensive Unix servers with proprietary Unix software and replaced them by cheaper servers equipped with Intel's own chips that run Linux software.

Busch says it was easy to migrate to Linux because of its similarities with Unix. The Linux servers are used in the engineering and scientific departments of Intel. The company's business lines that rely on accounting software and other office software still use Microsoft's Windows 2000 as the operating system of choice.

There are not enough robust office software packages that run under Linux, he says.

In any case, using Linux is not much cheaper than Windows 2000. Although Linux as an operating system is free, the real costs are related to the computers, and support and maintenance, he says.

For future trends, Busch says the company is developing a method to prioritise video over e-mail on its data networks. This should make video conferencing should more attractive.

Other areas in which Intel invests are wireless LAN networks. It also encourages employees to work from portable laptop computers rather than desktops, because it makes staff more productive at an extra cost of around $200 a year.

Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

Reuters shall be not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.