iDataPlex, the mean, green, cooling machine
IBM is entering the market for Internet-focused data centers with computer systems designed to both reduce power consumption sharply and take a smaller footprint. The move by IBM is the a sign that the major computer makers will compete aggressively to supply the specialised hardware needed for the cloud computing future of data centres, with vast stores of information and processing resources which can be used remotely by communicating devices.
The pioneers in cloud computing have been Internet companies like Google, Yahoo, social networks and online game services, which design their own data centers. Now mainstream corporations are also moving on to cloud data centers, offering a larger multimillion dollar business in a few years. Cloud data centers typically require stripped-down servers, tailored for specific computing tasks, and consequently are not clients for off-the-shelf servers.
Last year Sun Microsystems introduced its product for this market last year, a self-contained data center housed in a 20-foot shipping container. Dell started its cloud computing effort also last year. Hewlett-Packard is expected to announce its entry soon. Even maller companies like Rackable Systems and Varari Systems have data-serving computers designed for cloud computing.
IBM's approach has been to 'green' computer systems, designed to reduce power consumption sharply and also take up far less floor space. Called iDataPlex, IBM says its systems consume 40% less power than standard servers, and is designed to pack more than twice as many computers into the same space. The IBM systems also have an innovative water-cooling mechanism, so they do not heat up a data center, eliminating the need for expensive air-conditioning.
The iDataPlex systems are to ship next month, intended for high-end customers with data centers that have a thousand to tens of thousands of server computers, says James Gargan, IBM VP for xSeries servers powered by industry-standard microprocessors produced by Intel or AMD.
IBM systems will mostly be made to order for large customers. One offering involves putting 1,500 server computers into a 40-foot truck trailer, ready to plug in from a parking lot, said Gargan. Beta testing corporates include Yahoo and other internet service providers, but includes finance and traditional industries.
Jeffrey M. Birnbaum, MD and chief technology architect at Merrill Lynch, says that the I.B.M. systems in a trailer container would cost an estimated 50% less in real estate, set-up and construction costs than a similar conventional data center. Energy and operating cost savings, he said, would be an added advantage.
Web:www.ibm.com/uk/