Sun introduces fire servers at affordable prices

BANGALORE: Sun Microsystems has introduced Sun Fire servers. The new system is set to redefine the profile of traditional midrange servers with price range commencing from Rs 50 lakh. With this new systems Sun hopes to turn the heat on rivals HP, IBM and Compaq and also to increase its existing market share and capture at least $60 billion share in the server market.

Midframe, long known for robust features that make it highly reliable but extremely expensive, is now made available cheaper and more affordable. Sun's current family of industry-leading systems, the new Sun Fire servers are designed to deliver unprecedented levels of system availability, real-world application performance, flexibility and investment protection in a server line.

The foundation for these Midframe systems is based on breakthrough technology and a next-generation, balanced system design that delivers mainframe-class functionality. Design innovations such as redundant component interconnection technology, the ability to dynamically split one system into multiple systems, duplicate hardware components, and "on-the-fly" processor upgrades. At their core are UltraSPARC III processor, Sun's third-generation 64-bit chip, and industry-leading Solaris 8 Operating Environment.

The Sun Fire servers include several innovations such as Sun Fireplane interconnection or backplane. This fully redundant backplane enables fault-isolated partitioning and dynamic partitioning in a full production environment. The ability to split the computer into separate domains will enable customers the ability to design midrange systems with unprecedented levels of security, fault tolerance, uptime and flexibility in accommodating system growth or varying service demands. Its cable-free design gives the Sun Fireplane interconnection, greater bandwidth for more predictable performance and lower latency, which results in higher application performance.

A balanced system design and advances within the UltraSPARC III processor are central to the systems' outstanding and predictable performance. For example, the memory controller, usually a separate chip, is now integrated into the CPU, making the system inherently faster and more reliable. In addition, separate address and data paths on interconnected dedicated bandwidth to data transfers, vastly speeding internal data handling, resulting in higher system performance.

Like the successful Sun Enterprise mid-range servers, all of the Sun Fire systems share a common system architecture and have interchangeable components, a design innovation still unmatched in the industry. This common component approach gives customers the ability to redistribute capacity across different servers for flexible and efficient utilization of resources, while providing unparalleled investment protection.