Dell announces 32-chip server

Dell has reinforced its enterprise ambitions by launching an army of hardware servers and support services for its non-PC business.

Chief among the announcements is a plan to market a 32-processor Dell PowerEdge server based on Unisys's cellular multiprocessing (CMP) architecture. CMP uses 32 Intel Xeon microprocessors but is upgradable to Itanium, to provide an array of processing functionality familiar to enterprise-scale computers.

Other products launched include two PowerEdge rack-mounted servers, two PowerApp appliance servers, OpenManage installation and configuration tools, and associated consulting and support services.

"Enterprise products have long represented one of Dell's fastest-growing businesses," said Michael Lambert, senior vice-president of Dell's enterprise systems business, who added that the announcements put the company in a better position to address enterprise customers.

Dell plans to ship its 32-processor PowerEdge servers in the first quarter of next year. The servers can run either one operating system, or be partitioned to run multiple instances of various operating systems.

The PowerEdge 1550 and 350 rack-mounted systems are general-purpose machines. The 1550 model offers dual 1Ghz Pentium III processors, 4Gb of Ram, and up to three hot-pluggable one-inch SCSI hard drives, while the 350 unit supports a single Celeron or Pentium III chip and is aimed at customers with space-constraints.

Dell's OpenManage tools help customers install and configure the company's servers and storage devices. They also offer system status monitoring, remote systems management, and help companies manage and track assets.