What's with the buzz about blade servers?

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: MIKE KARP ON STORAGE IN THE ENTERPRISE
08/23/05
Today's focus: What's with the buzz about blade servers?

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Why blade servers are so popular
* Links related to Storage in the Enterprise
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: What's with the buzz about blade servers?

By Mike Karp

Blade servers are handy things, medium and large frames into
which vendors can stuff numerous blades. Within such a server
each blade performs either as an independent server or works in
concert with the other blades to perform some particular task.
Blades can be designed to perform a wide variety of disparate
functions, including processing, storage and providing power.

Both vendors and IT personnel often love these things. Vendors
like the design efficiency, and the fact that such boxes provide
them with a relatively flexible offering that lets customers
start small and grow more or less on an as-needed basis. Of
course, that first blade is pretty expensive - you have to buy
the server to put it in.

The blade server allows vendors to slide a large number of
server boards - each essentially an individual computer - into
the frame of the server, where they operate in a manner that is
loosely similar to the way embedded processors work. Efficiency
comes from the fact that the server provides a central set of
"services" - network connectivity, power, etc. - that minister
to all the blades.

Because of this design, a much smaller set of general-purpose
hardware is needed than would be necessary if the blades were
operating in more traditional architectures such as stand-alone
servers, appliances, and so forth. Moreover, the cost of the
basic componentry in the server for those "central services" is
spread across all the blades. This offers the vendors
opportunity for cost efficiency as they build their products.
The degree to which they pass that savings along to you is of
course open to conjecture.

IT teams tend to like blades for other reasons.

First, there is only one box to manage. Second, the change in
power requirements that occurs whenever a new blade is added
should be predictable. With both IT floor space and power at an
increasing premium, these have often become significant issues.
Beyond this, because blades are integral to the chassis, in many
cases managing the server means managing all the blades as well,
simplifying the management environment. Everything within the
chassis can typically be managed from a single console. Given
the cost of management these days, this should be viewed as more
than just a convenience.

Blades and their servers thus form a cost-efficient topology
that can often serve IT shops with great efficiency.

Is there a storage blade server in your future?

Next time we'll look at some of the possibilities, and discuss
what to expect (and what not to).

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Cisco preparing management play
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage5632>

2. VoIP security threats: Fact or fiction?
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage3825nlstoragealert5605>

3. Questions surround smartphone security
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage5633>

4. CLECs play a new tune
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage5634>

5. Google goes berserk
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage5417nlstoragealert5606>

Today's most-forwarded story:

Cisco preparing management play
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage5635>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Mike Karp

Mike Karp is senior analyst with Enterprise Management
Associates, focusing on storage, storage management and the
methodology that brings these issues into the marketplace. He
has spent more than 20 years in storage, systems management and
telecommunications. Mike can be reached via e-mail
<mailto:mkarp@enterprisemanagement.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Ciena
Protect your mission critical data. Achieve regulatory
compliance. Ensure high availability.

Download Ciena's solution brief that discusses MAN/WAN solutions
that are EMC qualified for distance replication to help you meet
your business continuance and disaster recovery goals. Learn how
to reduce networking costs and meet the strict performance
requirements of these time-sensitive applications.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=110903
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Storage newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/stor/index.html

Breaking storage news and analysis:
http://www.networkworld.com/topics/storage.html
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE
WIRELESS LANS BUYER'S GUIDE: THE GOODS ON 185 PRODUCTS

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or trying to decide between 802.11a, b or g, take a look at the
information that vendors have provided us. We've got the goods
on 185 products. Click here for more:
<http://www.networkworld.com/bg/wlan/index.jsp>
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