The Dynamics of Server Solutions and the Impact of Intel Products

Never in the history of the computer industry have we seen so many changes in server technologies. A paradigm shift is occurring that changes the selection criteria from price or performance to price and performance. The main drivers of this shift are the availability of high performance, scalable Intel based hardware systems and the maturing of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

The industry has always been looking for the Universal Platform, a platform that can be deployed with the appropriate solutions and operating systems while still providing scalability from the smallest problems to the largest. Previous alternatives required deploying a minimum of two hardware platforms, one RISC and one Intel; with multiple operating systems and the selected application software. IDC have forecast that by 2004, 30% of the server revenue will be from IA-32 systems, 30% from IA-64 systems with the remainder made up of RISC and CISC systems. The Itanium Processor Family, IA-64, will provide the Universal Platform reality. It will support more than 8 different operating systems; provided by almost every computer manufacturer and embraced by the major solution vendors.

While this evolution is happening there are also changes happening inside the server. The I/O subsystems of servers have not kept up to the increasing processor speed. The move towards balanced systems will require a new I/O architecture, one that will scale. With a faster, more scalable balanced environment we will also be able to deploy server systems at a much more granular level. No longer the requirement to purchase a complete server box of memory, processors, I/O, power and storage. The era of Blade servers will forever change the look of a data center.

It is essential that IT professionals understand the drivers and the new products that are being introduced. This seminar will discuss the Evolution of the Enterprise Sever Market and the trends driving it and the impact of Itanium. It will allow you to better understand the new architectures and provide a knowledge base that will assist you to designing and integrating new Enterprise Servers.