Jeff Burt

Scale-out architectures—clusters of smaller systems linked by a high-speed interconnect to create the computing power of larger servers—are gaining traction in enterprise data centers. As they do, OEMs are designing new servers to meet the demand. Scale-out proponent Dell Inc. last week launched the PowerEdge 1855, its first blade system in almost three years. The […]

When Hewlett-Packard Co. launched its Adaptive Enterprise strategy in 2003, Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina said a key was gauging a businesss ability to adapt to change. Adaptive Enterprise is about linking IT to business demands, and enabling businesses to quickly adapt to changing demands, she said. As such, part of HPs initiative was an […]

Enterprises looking to extend the capabilities of their data centers through virtualization will be getting more help from IBM and VMware Inc. over the next few months. IBM, of Armonk, N.Y., is growing its virtualization offerings in its Intel Corp.-based xSeries systems by making it easier to deploy and manage virtual machines. The moves are […]

Major hardware manufacturers are readying performance, clustering and interconnect offerings aimed at the supercomputing space but drawing the attention of enterprise IT. At the SC2004 supercomputing show in Pittsburgh this week, Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sun Microsystems Inc. will roll out new and enhanced bundles designed to ease the deployment and management of HPC […]

IBM is bringing its Blue Gene supercomputer to the masses. At the SC2004 supercomputing show in Pittsburgh on Monday, IBM is announcing that its Blue Gene computer—which the company has been setting up in government labs—will be commercialized. Dubbed the eServer Blue Gene, the new system, running on IBMs Power processors, will offer up to […]

NEC Corp. is not going to let IBM wrest the title for the fastest supercomputer without a fight. With the SC2004 supercomputing show less than a week away, NEC has unveiled the SX-8 vector computer, a system with a peak performance of 65 teraflops, or 65 trillion calculations per second, company officials claim. That performance […]

IBM next month will finish transitioning its core pSeries and iSeries server lines to the Power5 chip when it starts shipping three new high-end systems, two of which support as many as 64 processors. The next challenge for the Armonk, N.Y., company: getting more customers to buy the boxes. According to IBM officials, the Power5-based […]

Server makers are continuing to roll out combinations of bundled software and services and scaled-down hardware to give SMBs (small and midsize businesses) the technology they need at a price they can afford. Hewlett-Packard Co. this week is rolling out the newest of its entry-level ProLiant servers, which offer the latest Intel Corp. chips and […]

The global PC market grew in the third quarter, by how much depends on reports from market researchers IDC and Gartner released last week. IDC reported total shipments jumped almost 12 percent, to 44.2 million units. That was about 0.5 percent ahead of IDC forecasts. Gartner said the market grew 9.7 percent, to almost 47 […]

Computer makers have begun phasing out the current decade-old desktop PC chassis in favor of a newer design aimed at giving PCs the thermal headroom they need to handle new, hotter-running processors and graphics cards. The result for end users will be smaller form factors that run more quietly and reliably, while enabling them to […]

The global PC market continued to grow in the third quarter, according to reports from analyst firms International Data Corp. and Gartner Inc. released this week. But there were variations on the amount the market grew, and whether it was a robust market or one slightly below expectations. According to IDC, total shipment jumped almost […]

Enterprise blade server users will see their options grow as Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM extend their respective hardware options and management software capabilities for the slim form factor. HP later this year plans to roll out the first of its ProLiant blade servers powered by Advanced Micro Devices Inc.s 64-bit Opteron processor. At the same […]