IBM, Unisys To Ship High-End Xeon MP-Based Servers

Following the recent introduction of Intel's Xeon MP server chips, IBM and Unisys said they plan to ship high-end 16-way and 32-way Intel servers with enhanced capabilities.

IBM's Xeon MP-based server, the eServer x440, offers a unique modular architecture that allows customers to scale up incrementally from one four-way server to four four-way servers, two eight-way servers or one 16-way server, depending on need, said Jim Gargan, IBM's vice president of the eServer xSeries.

As part of its Enterprise X-Architecture, IBM has integrated many high-end features into the standard Intel server, including XpandOnDemand scalability, workload consolidation via partitioning, remote I/O capability with advanced PCI-X adapter slots and self-healing capabilities based on the company's eLiza software, IBM executives said.

Unisys, too, has upgraded one of its servers,the ES7000,for the Xeon MP.

The ES7000/200, set to ship in April priced from $100,000, is expected to perform 20 percent faster than the ES7000, whose unique cellular multiprocessing (CMP) architecture supports 32-bit processors such as the Xeon MP and Intel's 64-bit Itanium, said Mark Feverston, vice president of Unisys' server programs. The new server can be configured as an eight-way, 12-way, 16-way or 32-way system.

The ES7000/200 is the only server that fully exploits the Windows 2000 Datacenter's 32-processor scalability and Intel's new server chip, executives said. The ES7000/200 also incorporates Unisys' new Server Sentinel systems management software, which offers system health monitoring, self-healing, unattended operations and health-adviser features to guard against system failures.

Both servers are expected to support the forthcoming Windows .Net server operating system upgrade and Intel's 64-bit McKinley chip, said Unisys and IBM executives.

The availability of scalable, high-performing Intel servers capable of running multiple enterprise application workloads strengthens the server consolidation trend and increases the threat against Unix, said industry observers.

"The confluence of high-end Intel server designs, the Intel road map, and maturation of Linux and W2K and future Microsoft operating systems spells trouble for proprietary Unix growth rates," said Richard Fichera, a vice president at Giga Information Group. "IBM X-Architecture looks very promising, and this should be the basis for scalable Intel systems from four-way to 16-way, and eventually higher."

IBM and Unisys offer a full range of consulting and support services for their servers, but both companies intend to sell the products through solution providers as well.

Unisys plans to sell the ES7000/200 through Computer Resolutions, a systems integrator in Bridgeport, Conn., and through KPMG, Accenture, Avanade and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

IBM is evaluating several high-value-add partners and expects to select up to 50 solution partners in North America to start, said Gargan. "Because we're moving up in the [Intel food chain, we're developing a new channel," he said. "We'll certify and train the first 40 or 50 VARs in the architecture [and roll it out to other partners over time, but we want to get the program running."

Todd Bowling, president of Solutions-II, an Englewood, Colo.-based IBM solution provider, said he hopes his company is one of the initial partners to be certified for IBM's new server. Solutions-II specializes in storage consolidation but is increasing its emphasis on servers as a part of bundled solutions, Bowling said. "We have been very storage consolidation-focused, and now every [account I go into has a server-consolidation issue as well," he said.

The eServer x440 is expected to ship this spring in configurations of up to 16 processors, Gargan said. Pricing for two-way versions with one hard drive will start at $18,500, and a 16-way server with 16 Gbytes of SDRAM will cost about $100,000. The 32-way models are slated for July.