Dell plays consolidation angle with Nehalem

Dell's new server models will focus on streamlining and simplifying operations

Dell is aiming its latest server models at value-conscious IT buyers, claiming that its five new server models would focus on streamlining and simplifying operations.

The new line includes two rack-mount servers, two blade servers and a tower model. Each of the five models will be equipped with Intel's latest Nehalem Xeon processors.

For its part, Intel claims that the new line of processors will be able to shrink entire server rooms to a single machine in some cases.

Intel server group head Kirk Skaugen said at press conference last week that a single Nehalem chip would be able to shoulder the workload of roughly nine single-core servers.

Skaugen estimated that upgrading from a series of single-core servers to a single Nehalem-based server would provide enough energy savings to offset the cost of the new model in roughly eight months. For dual-core systems, the cost offsets itself in roughly two years.

Aside from the savings in consumption, Skaugen also said that the company had been speaking with energy providers about a new programme which will offer rebates for companies that upgrade to more efficient servers.

The new server line is the second part in an enterprise computing campaign which Dell introduced last week. The new approach combines an updated line of servers with a new management console and web-based services in an attempt to provide simplified and cost-effective hardware in the middle of the economic crisis.

Sally Stevens, director of Power Edge platform marketing at Dell, told reporters that, when combined with the company's new management console, the servers would allow businesses to consolidate floor space and power, and time spent managing infrastructure.

"It allows them to focus on what is important, less on maintaining the current infrastructure and more on focusing on strategic projects and growing their own business," Stevens said.

Dell will offer the new servers for pre-order on Monday, and the the first models will begin shipping by the end of the week.