Supermicro is rolling out several systems that take advantage of Intels energy-efficient Atom processors, which initially were used in the burgeoning netbook space. The Atom chips enable Supermicro to offer highly efficient and quiet serversor customizable motherboardsfor such roles as data storage and network appliances or as print and e-mail servers.Supermicro is putting Intels Atom processor into several new systems in its
Server Building Blocks Solutions portfolio.
The new Supermicro systemswhich, while their main thrust is as servers, can
be customized as motherboards as wellwill use the 4-watt and 8-watt Atom
chips.
Intel has been riding the strength of its Atom chips in the netbook market
to grow its dominant share of the x86 processor space. Research firm iSuppli
said in early April that Intel gained share in every quarter of 2008, thanks
in large part to Atom and the netbook space. Intel is expanding the reach
of the Atom chips through a partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.
Supermicro is looking to offer users Atom-based systems that are
energy-efficient and quiet and can be used in basic scenarios as data storage
and network appliances or print and e-mail servers.
Bringing the low-power consumption advantages of Atom processors to the
server appliance market empowers our customers with energy-saving, quiet
solutions that provide flexible expansion and storage features previously
unattainable with Atom solutions, Supermicro President and CEO
Charles Liang said in a statement.
The companys X7SLA-L platform is powered by the single-core Atom 230 chip,
which uses 4 watts of power. The X7SLA-H is powered by a dual-core Atom 330
chip, which consumes 8 watts of power. Another difference in the two systems is
that the X7SLA-H offers dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, an additional onboard Type
A USB 2.0 connector and an extra internal
serial port.
Another Atom-based system includes the small form factor 5051A SuperSaver,
with a high-efficient and quiet power supply. The SuperSaver 5035A offers
greater expansion and storage capabilities, including four hot-swap drive bays
and three add-on cards, plus a 300-watt power supply.