By Chip Brookshaw June 6, 2007 - If you thought blades weren't powerful enough to do the heavy lifting around your datacenter, think again. Today, Sun launches a new addition to the Sun Blade Modular System, the most open and versatile blade platform in the industry. The Sun Blade 6000 system offers twice the I/O (input/output) performance of competing blades. The new Sun Blade system supports UltraSPARC, Opteron, and Xeon architectures, plus an entire range of Solaris OS, Linux, and Windows applications. Now you can put Sun Blade systems to work on tasks across your entire enterprise--from Web infrastructure to enterprise business applications, virtualization, and high performance computing. That freedom of choice--along with an independent I/O architecture and transparent management--makes the Sun Blade 6000 system even easier to integrate into your datacenter. Join the Web event to watch CEO Jonathan Schwartz and other Sun executives and special guests unveil the new system live from Washington, D.C., plus get access to technical videos, an interactive tour, and special promotions. What We're Announcing
Today we're announcing the industry's most open and versatile enterprise blade platform capable of deploying the broadest range of applications. Included in the Sun Blade 6000 system:
Combine the Sun Blade 6000 system with the Solaris 10 OS to get a highly efficient, secure, reliable, and scalable blade solution. A Better Blade Design
According to industry analysts, blades are the fastest growing segment of the server market and expected to grow at double digit rates in this calendar year. Companies are embracing blades because they simplify the datacenter and offer better efficiency, which translates to faster deployment compared to traditional rackmount servers. They also can potentially double the compute capacity within the same footprint. "Sun Blade systems give you higher efficiency and performance, reducing your acquisition and operational costs while not locking you into a proprietary complex architecture," says Michael McNerney, product line director, Sun Blade Servers. Sun Blade servers deliver industry-leading performance and scalability today, plus twice the capacity for investment protection into the future. What's more, you get twice the I/O performance and twice the memory capacity as the competition The platform's open architecture allows you to easily integrate into existing datacenters and accommodate future improvements in technology--faster processors, new memory types, and other advances--without forklift upgrades. In other words, you can grow your IT infrastructure as your business requires. Energy Efficiency
In keeping with Sun's focus on eco responsibility, the Sun Blade 6000 system helps reduce environmental impact while lowering power and cooling costs in the datacenter. By using fewer and larger fans, more highly efficient power supplies, and eco responsible UltraSPARC T1 processors with CoolThreads technology, the Sun Blade solution improves datacenter efficiency by up to 15 percent. Transparent Management
No one wants to be locked into a management solution. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happens on many blade platforms that require vendor-specific chassis management tools. Open and transparent management is one of the key reasons why the Sun Blade 6000 system is the industry's most open and versatile blade platform. You can administer these blades with Sun or third-party management tools, such as management software by Altiris or BMC, HP Insight Manager, and IBM Director. The Sun Blade 6000 system architecture also supports standards such as IPMI, SNMP, HTTPS, SSH, DMTH, CLI, and Java technology. By managing blades like rackmount servers, you eliminate layers of complexity. No additional training is required. First Independent I/O
The Sun Blade 6000 system offers the only blades that support a true industry-standard PCI-Express I/O architecture, providing excellent compatibility with existing networking and storage equipment. Industry standard I/O helps ensure customers get the best technology at the lowest price, and protects against vendor lock-in. The Sun Blade independent I/O provides hardware-based I/O isolation, which separates the blade server modules from the I/O components allowing for independent servicing of servers or I/O without disrupting network and SAN connectivity. "Sun Blade independent I/O is dramatically easier to manage. You can install or replace an I/O module in about a minute," says McNerney. "Try doing that with the competition, where you'll have to shut down the entire blade system before servicing." Sharpen Your Blades
As blades assume an ever-greater role in the datacenter, the Sun Blade 6000 system shows the way by keeping a leash on costs with an open, versatile design. "When you add it all up, Sun Blades extend the lifecycle of your datacenter," says McNerney. "You get high performance today, with room to grow tomorrow." Learn more about the new Sun Blade 6000 System. Chip Brookshaw has been reporting on Sun technology for more than seven years covering Java technology, application development, and Sun hardware. |
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