Sun takes a second shot at blade servers

Sun is promising a new generation of blade servers

Sun Microsystems plans to release a new generation of blade servers that will be positioned to become the dominant form factor in the data centre.

"Blade servers will end up supplanting rack-mount servers over a period of time in the same way that rack-mount servers supplanted tower servers," John Fowler, executive vice president for Sun's Systems Group, said in a meeting with reporters at the company's San Francisco office. "If we get it right, it's a superior choice."

The company declined to give much detail, but one of the forthcoming products is codenamed Andromeda and is scheduled for release within the next three months. Fowler hinted that an eight-socket x64 system could be in the works.

The Sun executive referred to the upcoming blade systems as third-generation technology.

The company started shipping a first-generation x64 product with the B1600, which has since been discontinued. Sun does not currently offer any x64 blade servers.

Current generation blade systems lack longevity, Fowler argued. A typical x64 server lasts about three to four years before it is replaced or recycled. Risc systems such as Sun's Sparc servers run for five to seven years on average.

Increasing server longevity will improve the amortisation of systems, reduce business disruption in the case of down time and make for easier facilities planning.

Sun's forthcoming blade systems will allow system upgrading of memory and processors, and are expected to support the PCI Express Module standard.

This offers a standard way to attach storage devices to blade server systems, allowing customers to use a storage system of their liking.

"This gives us the ability to hot swap I/O in a standard way that can come from a variety of manufacturers. Because it's non-proprietary technology, the cost basis will follow the competitive curve," Fowler said.

He added that the technology will result in a 600 to 1,000 per cent increase in I/O bandwidth.

Server blades currently require a special internal switch to handle storage, which contributes to the fact that despite blades' smaller form factor, the systems are more expensive to purchase and maintain than rack-based servers.

"At the end of the day, compared to a rack server, the blade servers were not very interesting because you paid more for limited capability," said Fowler.

Sun is on the right path, according to Tom Kucharvy, president at analyst firm Summit Strategies.

"Blades are still a small niche market, but they are going to be the future architecture of the data centre," he told vnunet.com.

"It has so many of the advantages of rack servers that it is a no-brainer once these issues are resolved," Kucharvy said in a reference to the maintenance and storage issues faced by current generation blades.

He added that current blade manufacturers mostly build standalone products. Once they take more of a system builder approach, enterprises will start rolling out mission critical applications on the systems.

• A video interview with John Fowler is available on the Silicon Valley Sleuth blog.