1U server value doesn’t revolve around hardware

Saving space in the rack is taking on a number of faces. For those who choose the 1U server road, it’s all about small factor hardware muscle and extreme manageability. Even so, some manufacturers are striving to be all things to all 1U customers, while others are taking a more specialized road and concentrating more on hardware, leaving manageability up to the customer.

To discern the differences, I reviewed two entries from vendors with completely different marketing approaches. Hewlett-Packard’s ProLiant DL360 G3 is a third-generation 1U entry that is fully integrated with the ProLiant line of server expansion products, power management, and other accessories, as well as HP’s line of integrated server racks. MPC’s NetFrame 1610, by contrast, is an OEMed machine based on a generic Intel design. It’s MPC’s only entry in the 1U arena.

MPC turned out to be the white bread of this 1U sandwich. Although there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the NetFrame 1610, it didn’t measure up to the ProLiant GL360 G3 on any front. Performance-wise, HP had a slight edge. But the Proliant’s impressive bundle of management software, along with its lower price tag, pushed the unit far ahead of MPC’s hardware-only NetFrame.

Brawny, Not Brainy

The 1610 came configured with dual Xeon 2GHz CPUs coupled to a standard Intel E7501 chip set, 1GB of ECC (error-correcting code) RAM, dual 36GB UltraSCSI 3 hard disks connected to an integrated Adaptec U320 RAID  controller. Video is handled by the ubiquitous integrated ATI Rage XL video controller with its onboard stash of 8MB. The 1610’s chassis fits easily into its advertised 1U constraints, and has an intrusion detection switch that activates when the case is opened.

Inside, there’s nothing to complain about either. The system is powered by a single, 350W power supply and has expansion room for three hot swap drive bays and six DIMM sockets. That gives the 1610 a maximum of 292GB of hard disk storage (provided its third bay is being used for CD and floppy) and a maximum of 12GB of RAM. Not too shabby for something so small. PCI expansion is also necessarily limited to one full-height and 1 half-height PCI-X slot, though both support a 64-bit and 100MHz bus.

Input and output is robust, beginning with dual Intel 10/100/1000 RJ-45 network interfaces. The server can also be console-managed via an RJ-45-to-serial cable, and the system board has jumper switches that allow the 1610’s serial ports to be modem-controlled for even easier console connectivity.

My only real complaint about this 1U case is one that I have about all the new 1U chassis I’ve seen recently: the sudden dislike for standard keyboard, monitor, and mouse inputs. The 1610 has only a single PS/2 port, necessitating a USB adapter (not included) if you want to integrate this server into most existing KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) switch fabrics. Not a big ding, as most new KVM switches support USB inputs, but it’s a pain if you haven’t purchased one of these yet.

Aside from all this hardware, my MPC packaging contained only a quick-start poster, a thin manual, one power cord, and an evaluation copy of Windows 2000 Server. This bothered me a little because even though the HP DL360 is only a single-CPU machine, it comes with significantly more frills and costs about $200 less than the MPC.

A Little Less Muscle

HP’s DL360 G3 is based on the ProLiant product line established by Compaq for lo these many years. The ProLiant line has an excellent reputation for innovation, performance, and reliability. The DL360 won’t win any awards for bleeding-edge innovation in its G3 (Generation

Three) iteration, but it certainly raised my eyebrows in terms of performance and value.

My ProLiant DL360 G3 came configured with a single 2.8GHz Xeon CPU running on a 533MHz bus, only 1GB of RAM, and dual 36.4GB 15K RPM Ultra 3 SCSI hard disks connected to an integrated HP/Compaq Smart Array 5i controller. Video, dual gigabit-capable network uplinks and expansion options are basically the same as the MPC NetFrame 1610, though I did notice a few differences once I opened up the case.

Basically, the MPC 1610 seems to have room for a little more muscle than the DL360. Whereas the 1610 tops out at 12GB of RAM, it looks like the DL360 G3 has room for only 4GB, and its power supply is fixed at 200W. But this may change, as HP has yet to release a full description of the DL360 G3’s capabilities versus those of its predecessor, the G2. For example, although my G3 came equipped with a 2.8GHz Xeon CPU, the new G3 will be available with a 3.06GHz Xeon brain. Look for a final configuration options list from HP later this summer.

The Software Edge

What set the ProLiant apart from the MPC, however, wasn’t hardware muscle. It was the attention that HP and Compaq have paid to its engineering and manageability. Where the MPC is relegated to management based on IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) 1.5 and Intel Server Management support, the ProLiant comes with a host of manageability options. Its SmartStart CD, for example, has been upgraded for even easier and more automated server setup and includes a wide array of supported operating systems. The box also includes ActiveUpdate for automatic hardware and software updates from HP.

But what sets the ProLiant line apart in any server category is Insight Manager 7, included free with all ProLiant servers. Insight Manager isn’t perfect, but it’s highly sophisticated for a bundled feature. The software installs automatically with every ProLiant and displays basic performance, hardware, and reliability status information via a browser-based interface. It’s always been useful for asset management and basic up-time indicators, but via user-definable thresholds administrators can also use it as an alerting mechanism via e-mail/pager. A Performance Analyzer now gives hints as to what might be causing problems, although we found this feature a little light compared to commercial versions.

Also new to Insight Manager is the ability to assign a hierarchy of systems management staff access. This drills down to access security and even extends to problem resolution where specific server alerts can be routed to specific staffers. Administrators can now also construct a Favorites feature with the browser interface, allowing them to group servers by user-definable categories such as geographic location or department function.

Finally, Insight Manager now claims increased support for third-party server SNMP MIBs (management information bases) plus the ability to install Microsoft’s MSDE database as an option during Insight Manager installation, though we didn’t have time to test either of these new features.

Given all the extra features presented by HP’s software bundles, I had hoped that the MPC’s horsepower advantage would make some clear differences during benchmarking. But I was disappointed. Performance testing for both of our 1U machines consisted of an automated increase in user load and was conducted using scripted access tests via a Spirent WebAvalanche 2200.

Even with the MPC’s dual-CPU advantage, however, results were surprisingly close. The MPC only beat the HP by 150 sessions on our HTTP session sets, and by only 65 on our FTP sessions. This is likely due to an optimized disk system on the HP, as well as the ProLiant’s use of ServerWorks HE SuperLite Chipset. Unlike the standard Intel chip set used by the MPC, the ServerWorks chip set is optimized for fast I/O throughput, among other things.

Given such close performance, my last differentiator was price — another puzzler because the HP comes in at about $200 less than the MPC. In a way, that’s expected since the MPC is a more powerful machine hardware-wise. But given the amount of bundled management software and the obvious engineering that went into the ProLiant, I was surprised that the system cost so little.

You might think that 1U machines are vanilla enough to go for a hardware-only purchase; but HP’s pricing mavens are showing that the company can still offer quality engineering and excellent bundled management software without losing its competitive edge.