Fujitsu Primergy CX1000 Server Targets Cloud Environments

Fujitsu is joining the ranks of systems makers building servers aimed specifically at the cloud computing space.

Fujitsu on March 17 unveiled its Primergy CX1000, a system based on Intel’s new four- and six-core Xeon 5600 series processors and designed to help cloud computing providers get the power and performance they need while saving on much-needed space and power consumption.

That was done by removing some of components traditionally found within the system itself—such as power distribution and cooling features—and put them in the rack instead.

“Everything is centralized in the rack,” Manuel Martull, senior director of server marketing at Fujitsu, said in an interview.

The rack can hold up to 38 of the 1U (1.75-inch) CX1000 systems, and Martull estimated that businesses can save about 20 percent on the cost of the rack servers because of the elimination of those components.

Fujitsu also eliminated the redundant power supplies, a feature that officials said IAAS (infrastructure as a service) environments don’t need. In such highly virtualized and scaled-out data centers, if there is a failure, applications are simply migrated over to functioning servers and restarted, officials said.

In addition, Fujitsu designed the CX1000 with what the company is calling its Cool-Central architecture. Rather than blowing the hot air out the back of the server, the server funnels the hot air up and out the top, where it is picked up by the data center’s air circulating system.

Because of this, data center administrators can remove the “hot aisle”—the space normally left behind servers for hot air distribution—and place the servers back to back, saving as much as 40 percent on floor space.

Fujitsu officials said the CX1000 will be the cornerstone of their IAAS strategy, and a key part of the company’s larger Green Policy Innovation strategy, designed to help businesses become more environmentally friendly.

A number of other OEMs are offering systems aimed at cloud computing environments, including Hewlett-Packard, Dell, IBM and SGI.

The company also is expecting to expand such energy-efficient capabilities to other systems—from towers to racks to blades—in the future, according to Jon Rodriguez, senior product manager for Primergy rack and tower servers.

In addition, Fujitsu is putting these systems in its own data centers, both as a way to save money as well as creating an environment where the company can begin offering its own IAAS services to customers, Rodriguez said in an interview..

“We’re scaling out our own data centers with this,” he said.

The racks are scheduled to begin shipping by the end of March, with a starting price of $90,000 for an enclosure of 38 systems.