Server Hardware

The entries in the server hardware category this year include high-end Unix servers; Intel Corp.-based rack-optimized servers; blade systems; document and print servers; XML accelerators; and keyboard, video and mouse switches. Equal consideration was given to all entries, based on the products abilities to support enterprise applications.

WINNER

Sun Fire 12K

Sun Microsystems Inc.s Sun Fire 12K is the winner in this category for its flexibility and pay-as-you-go expandability. A mainframe-class Unix server system that can support as many as 52 UltraSPARC III 1.05GHz processors and as much as 288GB of memory, the Sun Fire 12K will be ideal for server consolidation, high-end computing and mission-critical application needs. Judges in this category were impressed with the Sun Fire 12Ks Uniboard module, a CPU/memory board architecture that allows the system to be dynamically reconfigured without shutting it down. Also, Dynamic System Domains allow the Sun Fire system to dynamically allocate resources to applications within different operating systems.

FINALISTS

eServer xSeries 440 16-way

The judges picked IBMs eServer xSeries 440 16-way as a finalist in this category because of its innovative design and flexibility in the Intel server space. The x440 is the first 16-way Intel Xeon MP server and offers high-availability features such as memory mirroring and chip-kill protection. The x440 uses what IBM calls the X-Architecture technology—a high-speed bus interconnect—to combine two 440 eight-way Xeon systems as a single system. The x440 also has built-in cache acceleration, placing frequently accessed data closer to the processors to deliver better performance. Remote I/O enables modular scaling of additional PCI/PCI-X components in external enclosures for future growth.

PrimePower 2500

With the ability to support as many as 128 1.3GHz SPARC64TM V processors, Fujitsu Technology Solutions Inc.s PrimePower 2500 has heavy-duty processing power (and, at $1.35 million for an eight-processor system, a heavy-duty price). The PrimePower 2500 also offers a new, ultrafast bus that supports up to 133GB per second of bandwidth for high-capacity mainframe computing. The judges were especially impressed with the dynamic reconfiguration and system partitioning capabilities—down to a single processor.

Excellence Awards Winners and Finalists: