Sun Sparc server shatters seven standards

Sun claims 'much greater price-performance efficiency' with its new Sparc Enterprise T5440

Sun Microsystems has unveiled its latest server offering, the Sun Sparc Enterprise T5440 running the Solaris 10 operating system, which it reckons has broken seven world records on industry standard benchmarks.

The T5440 scored the best four-processor result on the two-tier SAP Sales and Distribution Standard Application Benchmark, Oracle's Siebel CRM 8.0 Platform Sizing and Performance Program, single-node SPECjAppServer2004 and SPECjbb2005, as well as setting new HPC records on SPECompL2001, SPECint_rate2006 and SPECfp_rate2006.

Sun reckons the new energy efficient Chip Multi-Threaded (CMT) server can offer up to four times better performance and costs as much as 80 per cent less than rival machines.

"The efficiency of the chip multi-threading design lets us offer better performance at lower cost," Nancy Riley, group marketing manager for volume Sparc systems, told vnunet.com.

"The system on a chip architecture of the CMT design achieves much greater price-performance efficiency."

The new server is built on Sun's UltraSPARC T2 Plus architecture and is aimed at the mid-level market for those looking to consolidate and virtualise mid-range applications, including large scale OLTP databases, CRM and ERP systems.

"Traditionally people think of us as providers of web tier and app tier hardware," said Riley. "Now we are able to get into the mid-range market for CRM and ERP applications. We are looking to redefine the midrange economics."

The 4U enclosure packs in four processors boasting up to 32 cores (256 threads) and 512GB of memory. It weighs in at 40kg and typically consumes around 1,575W of power.

On the green front, the server features a redesigned power distribution subsystem and Intelligent Fan Control which dynamically adjusts fan speed as well as dividing the chassis and fans into cooling zones so that only the fans in those areas that are heating up are increased.

It is also one of the first systems to incorporate unique power management features including the ability to park idle threads.

"The Sparc Enterprise T5440 server offers incredible performance on a completely different curve in a footprint that's half the size of the competition. For customers, it all comes down to faster, smaller, greener, better," said John Fowler, executive vice president of the Systems Group at Sun.

The Sparc Enterprise T5440 server is available now directly from Sun and Fujitsu as well as authorised resellers starting at $44,995.