Review: From White Box To White Mod

Intel Corp. executives decided last year that the Santa Clara, Calif., chip giant's channel partners—and the small- and midsize-business market—could gain more traction than they were getting from the blade technology tier-one manufacturers were offering. So they went back to the drawing board and returned with an industry first: an all-in-one, top-to-bottom, rackable system that provides bladelike horsepower in an easy-to-deploy, easy-to-manage package.

The Intel Modular Server is a 6U monster box that combines servers, storage and networking into one solution. It also subtracts complexity. The CMP Channel Test Center examined the Intel Modular Server and believes it will have immediate impact on the channel and SMB segment.

The Specifics
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 Tbytes of storage.

The systems will ship without the servers or storage, allowing system builders to customize solutions 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 Test Center 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 server simplifies the process. Solution providers no longer need to purchase or 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 server.

The unit the Test Center examined had five hard drives installed. Four drives were configured under RAID 5, with the 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 gives a visual indication as to which drive needs to be replaced.

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

Next: What's Not To Like?