Review: Intel Modular Server

That noise you just heard was the sound of Intel blowing the doors off the rest of the small and mid-market market with delivery of its new Intel Modular Server, a combination of storage and CPU horsepower that's the only one of its kind in this space.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip maker has positioned the monster 6U box as a solution for companies that seek the storage and processing power of a large enterprise -- but without the complexity and management skill sets required for a blade system. The CMP Channel Test Center examined the Intel Modular Server over several days this week and believes it will have immediate impact on the channel and SMB segment.

Slide Show: Come Along As Our Test Center Puts The Intel Server Through The Paces

Weighing in at a rackable 200 pounds, the Intel Modular Server is built with a capacity for six dual- or quad-core servers and as many as 14, 2.5-inch hard disk drives -- for a total capacity of up to 2 Tb of storage. The systems will ship without the servers or storage, allowing system builders to customize their own solution to fit the needs and budget requirements of customers. A key element of the Intel Modular Server is integration of Layer 2 switches in the back of the box. That design could allow an end user to entirely eliminate one layer of infrastructure from the solution.

The system in the lab came with two switches, one server module, and a management module. There is an available slot to add a second server module.

For solution providers developing a storage solution for their customers, the Modular Server simplifies the process. They no longer need to purchase and configure a separate server unit to work with a SAN appliance. The integrated approach from Intel means that with one management interface, both parts can be administered and configured at the same time. Intel also didn't change any of the storage rules. Anyone familiar with storage technology can work with the Modular Server.

The test unit had five hard drives installed. Four drives were configured under RAID5, with fifth acting as an automatic hot spare. Regular system health checks ensure that as soon as one of the drives in the RAID array fails, the spare drive will be swapped in to prevent any data loss. A convenient LED on top of the drive bay will give a visual indication as to which drive needs to be replaced.

The Modular Server creates pools out of available storage. When creating these pools, the management interface automatically makes the appropriate configurations available. For example, if only three hard drives are added to the storage pool, then RAID5 is not presented as an option. This simplifies creating RAID arrays, making it easier for non-SAN experts to allocate storage.

Information about the storage pools are not stored on any of the servers. When the storage pools are created, they are assigned to a specific server, say, having a pool of 100 Gb available to Server 5 on the Modular Server. The pool will be created and the space allocated, even if there is no Server 5 currently installed on the chassis. However, once a server is installed in that space, the server will automatically gain access to the storage pool. In addition, if a server fails and is replaced, the new server automatically sees all the storage information the previous server saw. Alternatively, if a server fails, it's a simple step to go into the management interface and tell the storage pool to switch to a different server.

Solution providers can also use the "prepare for transport" feature when configuring or migrating the system. This feature allows the drives to be preset and configured such that they can be up and running in the exact same way even when installed in a different chassis.

Intel has also wrapped in a well-designed management interface for on-site or remote management, including a "Virtual Presence" feature that provides a virtual -- and real-time -- view of the server units, storage disks and all other key metrics to be monitored.

Next: Pricing And Other Issues Examined The offering isn't perfect. Intel executives were coy about pricing during our conversations with them at initial testing. While system builders and solution providers will play a major role in how the offering is priced depending on precise CPU and storage builds, there is a concern that it may be a little too pricey to acquire for smaller businesses in the SMB segment.

But total cost of ownership and return on investment could counter those concerns. For example, after several days of operation the system ran at a relatively cool 84 degrees and consumed about 198 watts with two servers running (it ticked down to about 96 watts with one server in operation). Compared to horsepower required and heat generated by legacy systems, system builders could easily calculate a strong ROI for many customers on energy and cooling requirements alone.

As far as noise: The system generates about 80 db of noise when it starts up, but has dropped as low as the mid 60s in decibels when one server was operating and the fans had to work a little less. Intel says a quiet kit can be added on deployment that will take the noise down another 10 db or so. (Like many servers, the Intel Modular Server was much noisier when it was first fired up and all the fans were going full-blast).

Slide Show: Come Along As Our Test Center Puts The Intel Server Through The Paces

Intel has done a bang-up job simplifying the look and feel of the Modular Server's Management Server Control console, given the complexity of the server's Multi-Flex technologies. Navigating and configuring the 2 servers that came with the Modular Server was a breeze. To access the Web based console, the Management Module's Ethernet port needs to be connected to a network.

The console neatly divides system and server settings using a series of tabular panes and a navigation bar on the left side of the workspace. The Navigation bar links to the same options available on the tabs. The system comes with what Intel calls "Virtual Presence," which provides a real time "virtual" view of the Multi-Flex devices available on the Modular server and the status of each device. The virtual views of the servers, storage and switches are displayed as part of an image of the server's front and rear chassis.

Right below each virtual view, a status panel provides general information on each device. Intel Modular developers did a great job putting together and displaying key statistics from internal sensors and device properties. The status panel also tracks device events. Information on the events is available on the help menu. In addition, the events can be changed in the Policy Definitions area.

The Modular server supports SNMP traps and remote email notifications. The console also comes with default reports. The Storage Layout report is simply invaluable. This report shows a map of the physical and virtual devices, except it is missing the virtual switches. CMP Channel Test Center would like to see a map of all the devices in the next software update. The reports can be generated on the fly as well. The Diagnostic report, for instance, performs a real time communications test between all the devices.

Intel still counts companies like Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sun Microsystems and Dell as key customers of its processor products and blade technology -- in fact Intel continues working with IBM in areas of blade technology development. But with the Intel Modular Server, the chip giant is delivering a solution to the channel that will fill a key void for system builders and VARs, and will position them to grow directly against the Tier 1 vendors.