 ServersThis newsletter is sponsored by SybaseNetwork World's Servers Newsletter, 05/08/07Start-up adds new twist to x86 virtualizationBy Jennifer MearsIt’s been a trend for some time now: enterprise buyers turning from Risc-based servers to increasingly powerful x86 systems as a way to cut costs and improve efficiencies. At first, it was a one application to one box scenario, where users were seeing about 10% utilization – not the greatest when you’re looking for efficiencies. But along came VMware and the x86 server virtualization tidal wave took off, sending average utilization rates up as a result. At the same time, though, it remains clear that even virtualized x86 systems don’t offer the reliability and scalability associated with mainframes or big SMP machines. There are still issues with managing multiple virtual workloads and managing how those workloads connect to the network. Start-up 3Leaf Networks says it has a way to deal with those issues and raise virtualized x86 servers into the realm of the mainframe.
The company is backed by some big name investors, including Intel Capital, which led a $20 million Series B round of funding that closed last week. All told, 3Leaf has $32.5 million to dig into in developing its virtualization products. The products are a combination of software and hardware and are part of what 3Leaf calls its Virtual Compute Environment. The first product – the V-8000 Virtual I/O Server – was unveiled last week. The idea is similar to what HP is doing with its Virtual Connect Architecture within its BladeSystem servers. The V-8000 virtualizes network and storage I/O, removing the hardwired connection to physical systems and instead creating a virtual pool of resources by allocating I/O where it’s needed, when it’s needed. Instead of connecting directly into storage or the network, servers in the Virtual Compute Environment hook in to the V-8000, eliminating the need for separate HBAs, NICs, cables and switches. It also reduces management headaches since the V-8000, and therefore each server’s I/O, can be managed from a single console. A key benefit is servers can be deployed quickly, since servers can be defined in advance and network and storage interfaces don’t have to be allocated separately each time. The 2U V-8000 is built on two, dual-core Opteron processors. It can be configured with four to 18 1Gbps Ethernet ports and as many as 14 4Gbps Fibre Channel ports. It supports VMware, Xen and Microsoft virtualization technology. 3Leaf recommends that users buy the systems in pairs to have redundancy. The V-8000 is priced at $50,000 per appliance. Get more detail on the V-8000 here.
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| Contact the author: Jennifer Mears is a freelance journalist based in Arizona. She was previously senior editor at Network World focusing on server issues. E-mail her at jlmears@gmail.com.
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