Hardware

System hardware offered more opportunities for consolidating servers in 2003, providing faster processors, higher density, and improved manageability at lower prices. Juggernauts Dell, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard played catch-up to upstart RLX Technologies in the race to produce the densest and most easily managed server blade system — the battle culminating in our July roundup. In Intel-based rack-mounted servers, IBM and HP led the way with polished, highly manageable systems of every size and description, while Gateway and MPC challenged Dell in offering the most capable hardware at the lowest price points. This was also the year that Sun found religion, offering an Intel-based Linux (or Solaris) server that we tested in November.

The past year also witnessed the birth of AMD’s Opteron and Intel’s Itanium 2 processors, which fueled the rise of commodity 64-bit systems. We tested Opteron servers from Appro, Newisys, and Pogo Linux, and Itanium 2 servers from Dell, IBM, and HP. Look for our review of IBM’s new Opteron box early next year. Other highlights in 2003: Apple’s introduction of the Slot Load Xserve and Xserve RAID (see Storage) and Dell’s foray into high-performance computing with a well-integrated cluster based on its PowerEdge 3250 Itanium 2 server.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

32-Bit Servers Apple Xserve Apple Very Good (8.3) Cost: $3,799, dual 1.33GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 60GB hard drive, dual GbE (Gigabit Ethernet) Bottom Line: The second generation of Xserve runs cooler and quieter than the first. It sports faster CPUs and smarter temperature management. Given the absence of a road map for an Xserve with the new PowerPC G5 CPU, this iteration of Xserve is a smart choice for shops that want a highly manageable server with an industry-standard, Unix-like OS in Mac OS X.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Gateway 975 Gateway Computers Very Good (7.5) Cost: Base price, $2,199; as tested, $8,821 Bottom Line: Although not as polished as the HP ProLiant DL380, this 2U server packs an awful lot of punch. Its bundled management software is a step behind HP’s, but for system admins who simply want power without proprietary software hooks, this machine is worth considering. It does come with Gateway Server Manager 1.2, which helps with asset management and post-OS setup monitoring, but it can’t set alerts based on thresholds.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

HP ProLiant DL360 G3 Hewlett-Packard Very Good (8.2) Cost: $4,604 as tested Bottom Line: This well-engineered machine is made more attractive by a surprisingly friendly price and an excellent complement of bundled management software, most notably the free Insight Manager 7. Although limited to a 1U case for internal expansion, it provides a large number of HP ProLiant option products, making this strong performer highly flexible.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

HP ProLiant DL380 G3 Hewlett-Packard Very Good (8.3) Cost: Base price, $2,588; $6,215 as tested Bottom Line: A carefully engineered 2U machine in a field dominated by cookie-cutter competition, the DL380 is widely expandable via a large number of HP ProLiant products, and it comes bundled with a free and surprisingly useful management suite.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

HP ProLiant DL560 Hewlett-Packard Very Good (7.9) Cost: Base price, $7,099; $13,846 as tested Bottom Line: The 2U DL560 is a great choice for heavy-duty departmental or corporate use in which blade or 1U servers simply don’t have enough muscle. Although cheaper servers are available, few can match HP’s engineering, bundled management capabilities, and support policies.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

HP ProLiant DL740 Hewlett-Packard Very Good (8.2) Cost: $78,065 as tested; base price for four 2GHz Xeon MP processors, 4GB RAM: $44,999; add $28,399 for four additional processors Bottom Line: The DL740 combines the processing power of an eight-way, 2GHz Xeon MP server with the performance, scalability, and high-availability features needed for high-end enterprise applications. Although it’s expensive, in terms of time, admin costs, software licensing, and complexity, the ROI of the DL740 may prove better than that of redesigning apps to run on clusters.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

HP ProLiant DL760 G2 Hewlett-Packard Excellent (8.9) Cost: Base price, $47,999; $50,328 as tested Bottom Line: A top contender for truly heavy-duty application duties. The 7U DL760 is an expensive machine that takes a big chunk of rack space but is almost unrivaled in terms of reliability, redundancy, and raw processing muscle. It’s also an excellent machine to handle harsh CPU and disk loads.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

HP ProLiant ML370 G3 Hewlett-Packard Very Good (8.5) Cost: $5,875 as tested Bottom Line: A solid, well-designed, highly redundant 5U server that will fit into nearly any departmental situation. Easy to service and support, the ML370 performs well. It’s designed for flexibility and has plenty of room for add-in features. Management is easy and can be done remotely with HP’s ILO (Integrated Lights-Out) management.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

IBM eServer x335 IBM Very Good (7.9) Cost: $3,756 as tested Bottom Line: A well-engineered 1U machine, at least from a motherboard and disk-space perspective. Installation is somewhat complicated, both in terms of hardware (requires a nonstandard KVM cable) and software (requires a full OS installation). When it is up and running, however, the machine is a sleek, small workhorse with stable components.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

IBM eServer x345 IBM Very Good (8.0) Cost: $4,286 as tested Bottom Line: Roomy and solid, this 2U, rack-mounted box is very reminiscent of the HP DL380. Without the proprietary KVM cable required by the eServer x335, this machine is far easier to set up. Regular customers will still need to undergo the lengthy installation process or ask their IBM business partner to handle it for them.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

IBM eServer xSeries 445 IBM Excellent (8.6) Cost: $40,797 for the base system with four 2.8GHz Xeon processors; $69,460 as tested (eight processors, 2GB RAM, two 36GB hard drives); $4,999 for kit to connect two systems Bottom Line: IBM’s new x86-based flagship server is well-designed and well-built for performance, high availability, and scalability to as many as 16 processors — not to mention its robust, reliable memory-recovery technology. The only shortcomings: limited slots and drive bays.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

MPC NetFrame 1610 MPC Computers Good (6.6) Cost: $4,891 as tested (no OS) Bottom Line: Despite being more muscular internally than the HP ProLiant DL360 G3, the NetFrame 1610 1U server does not distinguish itself in benchmark tests as much as expected. What might concern buyers more is that hardware is all you’re buying with this machine; its costs are comparable to the ProLiant, yet it doesn’t add significant long-term software value.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

MPC NetFrame 2610 MPC Computers Good (6.4) Cost: Base price, $2,658; $5,689 as tested Bottom Line: This is basically the same 2U, rack-mounted server as the Gateway 975, although the Gateway came much more strongly configured than this MPC model. This shouldn’t deter potential buyers; both machines are completely customizable prior to purchase. It may lack proprietary hardware engineering geared toward management and monitoring, but the standard parts may ease some configuration hurdles.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

MPC NetFrame 600 MPC Computers Very Good (7.8) Cost: $5,875 as tested Bottom Line: MPC’s NetFrame 600 is easy to work with, despite a limited range of management features. It can be configured, however, as a high-end workstation. It’s very quiet, so it will fit nicely into occupied spaces. SATA (Serial ATA) drives allow you to cram more storage into the case than you can with other servers; on the other hand, you can’t hot-swap the drives. It’s not the complete solution, but then it’s not priced like one, either.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Sun Fire v60x Sun Microsystems Very Good (7.9) Cost: $4,840 Bottom Line: Surprisingly well-rounded, this Linux-based platform is intended for grid computing and large clustered environments. It makes a dandy do-it-all machine for small businesses or cash-strapped departments with Linux expertise. This version supports only Red Hat Linux 7.3, but future support is slated for later versions of Red Hat and for Solaris 9 for Intel (think grid computing and large, rack-based server clusters).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

64-Bit Servers Appro 1122H Appro International Very Good (7.3) Cost: $2,295 as tested Bottom Line: The two-Opteron CPU Appro 1122H produced the highest numbers in our performance testing. It also scored points with an easy-entry case, the inclusion of rack-mounted rails, and the lowest price tag in our review. This system is ideal for clustered environments.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Appro Hyperblade Mini-Cluster Appro International Very Good (8.1) Cost: Opteron 240 blade, 512MB RAM, one hard drive: $1,565; 2.4GHz Xeon blade, 512MB RAM, one hard drive: $1,550; Mini-Cluster cabinet and Command Center: $2,790; BladeDome management software: $80 license fee per node Bottom Line: This space-efficient cluster will fit in many places where a full-height rack won’t. Excellent hardware management tools and excellent integration of the servers with the rack is complemented by strong versatility. The solution lacks redundant power, however.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Dell PowerEdge 3250 Cluster Dell Excellent (8.8) Cost: Complete cluster with eight nodes and two management servers, racks, cables, KVM, software, and Dell PowerConnect 3324 GbE switch, $129,509; Myrinet and on-site setup extra Bottom Line: The PowerEdge 3250 server is well-suited to its high-performance computing role; it laces together the high-availability, scalability, and management tools appropriate for general enterprise computing. Its platform is primarily Linux, but Windows is available on request. The fast, highly scalable Itanium cluster is well-integrated, with a complete ready-to-buy solution encompassing hardware, infrastructure gear, networking, middleware software and tools, and tested drivers.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

HP Integrity Server rx2600 Hewlett-Packard Very Good (7.9) Cost: Starts at $5,401; $20,293 as tested Bottom Line: HP’s Itanium-based rx2600 is an enterprise-oriented system with rock-solid engineering, redundant features throughout, lots of expandability, and all parts geared for performance. With its hefty price tag, the rx2600 is more suitable for deploying one or two higher-reliability systems than for clustering.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

IBM eServer iSeries 825 IBM Excellent (8.7) Cost: $160,000 for base hardware with six 1.1GHz Power4 processors, 8GB RAM, OS/400 Version 5 Release 2; between $200,000 and $250,000 as tested, with application licenses Bottom Line: Built and priced like a battleship, the iSeries 825 is a midrange server platform; squarely in the middle of IBM’s lineup, it has the processing power and high-availability features to run many business-critical applications simultaneously. The tightly coupled hardware, operating system, applications, and management tools make it easy to deploy and maintain.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

IBM eServer xSeries 450 IBM Very Good (7.1) Cost: $41,397 as tested Bottom Line: XSeries 450 delivers Itanium 2 scalability in a high-density form factor that maximizes rack space. The svelte design, however, is born of compromised expandability and raw performance. This latter point is of particular concern when you compare the price against similarly equipped Xeon servers, many of which can give the xSeries 450 a run for its money.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Newisys 2100 Server Newisys Very Good (7.5) Cost: $2,995 recommended price Bottom Line: The Newisys 2100 is not directly available from Newisys but through resellers. With two Opteron CPUs, it offers a substantial feature set, including hot-swappable SCSI drives, four Ethernet interfaces, two PCI slots rather than one, and a management blade that adds remote management capabilities.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Pogo Linux PerformanceWare 1264 Pogo Linux Very Good (7.1) Cost: $2,489 as tested Bottom Line: The PerformanceWare 1264 offers excellent value from an established Linux server vendor. The system’s case does require a screwdriver to open, and drives are neither hot-swappable nor easily removable, but craftsmanship and performance are good with two Opteron CPUs — it’s a great value and power for the price.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Blade Systems ClearCube PC Blade ClearCube Technologies Excellent (8.6) Cost: 2GHz Pentium CPUs, 128MB RAM, 10GB IDE hard disk, and C/Port: $1,200 per seat; 2.4GHz Pentium CPU, 512MB RAM, 40GB hard disk, ClearCube Management Suite license, and C/Port: $1,950 per seat Bottom Line: A fantastic step forward in desktop management from hardware deployment through configuration and ongoing management, ClearCube has done an amazing job creating this environment with virtually no faults and a number of pleasing side benefits including automatic data backup and fail-over as well as forward-looking capabilities such as multiple clients or OSes per blade.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Dell PowerEdge 1655MC Dell Excellent (9.1) Cost: Enclosure with redundant layer 2 switches, hot-pluggable redundant power and cooling, embedded KVM (keyboard, video, and mouse) switch, Dell RapidRails kit, $2,637; server blade with no OS, dual 1.4GHz Pentium III, 512MB RAM, dual 18GB hard drives, RAID, dual embedded GbE NICs: $2,594 Bottom Line: Dell’s fast, dual-processor blade server packs all the benefits of a standard 1U server in half the space, reducing power and cooling requirements and deployment cost. Integrated GbE offers high-speed communication between servers, making it ideal for clustering or load balancing.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

HP ProLiant BL20p G2 and p-Class Server Blade Enclosure Hewlett-Packard Very Good (7.7) Cost: p-Class Blade Enclosure, $2,394; ProLiant BL20p G2 blade, $3,549 base, $6,194 as tested with dual 3.06GHz processors, 1GB RAM, and two 36GB hard drives Bottom Line: HP’s blades are larger and more expensive than its competitors’, negating some high-density benefits, but they’re also the most powerful and scalable. Consider then when you need standard 1U server functionality and want the convenient blade form factor, plus high-availability storage — HP’s system offers the fewest compromises.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

IBM eServer BladeCenter HS20 and eServer BladeCenter IBM Very Good (8.0) Cost: BladeCenter enclosure, $2,748; HS20 server blade, $2,379 base, $3,807 as tested with dual 2.6GHz processors, 768MB RAM, one 40GB hard drive. Bottom Line: IBM’s blade system offers the highest rack density in its class and offers more on-site convenience such as a KVM, removable drives, and LightPath diagnostics. It’s also the easiest solution to maintain, with quick access to blade components. Although the management software isn’t tops, the hardware is.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

RLX ServerBlade 1200i RLX Technologies Very Good (8.3) Cost: $2,279 for ServerBlade 1200i; $2,899 for System 300ex enclosure; $2,999 for ServerBlade 800t with Control Tower 4 software Bottom Line: RLX’s blade system is self-contained with integrated power and management, creating a cost-effective way to manage large numbers of Linux-based servers. Although the 1200i is a relatively slow uniprocessor server, the System 300ex enclosure offers very high rack density.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

RLX ServerBlade 2800i and System 600ex RLX Technologies Very Good (8.2) Cost: System 600ex Enclosure, $4,900; ServerBlade 2800i without KVM, $3,400 base, $4,500 as tested with dual 2.8GHz processors, 1GB RAM, and one 60GB hard drive; add $200 for KVM-based blade; Control Tower management blade, $4,000 Bottom Line: Blade specialist RLX has come a long way with its improved hardware. Innovative LCD consoles on the enclosure and servers ease on-site management. But the real gem is in the Control Tower management software, which runs on a dedicated blade and automates OS and software deployments, making blade swaps simple.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

End-User Hardware Gateway 700XL Gateway Computers Very Good (7.3) Cost: $2,959 Bottom Line: Although somewhat out of its league in our roundup of desktop workstations, the 700XL held up well and actually outperformed the more expensive HP solution, handling demanding workloads with ease. Keep a lookout for Gateway’s E-Series business desktop version.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

HP Workstation xw4100 Hewlett-Packard Very Good (7.0) Cost: $3,592 Bottom Line: A good overall performer, the HP Workstation xw4100’s lack of SATA RAID support and use of a non-CSA (Communications Streaming Architecture) GbE solution hampers what would otherwise be an excellent high-end client and/or low-end workstation solution.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

MPC ClientPro 545 MPC Computers Very Good (8.2) Cost: $3,454 Bottom Line: The highest-performing Pentium 4 PC the reviewer has tested, the MPC ClientPro 545 is the ideal solution for both the demanding knowledge worker and entry-level workstation applications. It includes DDR-400 SDRAM memory, Nvidia Quadro FX2000 workstation-class video, and SATA RAID support.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

RIM BlackBerry 7230 Research in Motion Excellent (8.9) Cost: $399 retail, plus monthly service from cellular carrier Bottom Line: The BlackBerry 7230 nudges RIM’s staid device style closer to that of color smart phones and cellular-equipped PDAs. The 7230’s color display is large, the text is smoothly rendered, and an improved key layout makes the device a better phone. Software enhancements related to Office and PDF document viewing and over-the-air inbox and calendar synchronization round out a great handheld.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Systems Management Altiris Server Provisioning Suite Altiris Very Good, 8.3 Cost: Starts at $300 per node Bottom Line: SPS offers a complete, powerful deployment environment with inventory, patch management, software delivery, remote control, monitoring, and app management. Managers willing to brave the initial cost and configuration time should recover expenses rapidly.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

IBM Director 4.1 IBM Very Good, 8.0 Cost: Upgrade from Directory 3.1, $25 per server; new purchase, $1,799 for host server with 20 client licenses. Bottom Line: The best part of IBM’s xSeries, this management software is a good investment for non-xSeries users. IT will cost those folks extra, but the money is well worth it, in part because of Director’s features but especially because of its ease-of-use, clean interface, and extensive wizards. Integrating this platform into an existing server farm is a snap.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Microsoft Automated Deployment Services Microsoft Very Good, 7.0 Cost: Free Bottom Line: The scope of ADS is limited: It can only be installed on Windows 2003 Server and can only deploy Windows Server 2000 and 2003. If you need it only for those specific OSes, it does a good job — it is a marvel of simplicity in installation and use, and it’s free.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Novell ZENworks 6 Novell Very Good, 8.4 Cost: ZENworks 6, $130 per user; ZENworks for Servers, $59 per user or $3,000 per server Bottom Line: Not just for NetWare networks anymore, ZENworks offers a strong role-based solution for deploying server OSes, applications, and patches based on the server’s role in the organization. It is rather complex but also includes a variety of software and network management tools.