It wasn't long ago that RISC processors powered EMC's server lines. Today, Intel's Nehalem EX processor is the power behind its four server lines. Together, Celerra, Centera, Clariion and Symmetrix offer a variety of solutions to match a variety of budgets.

In the past few months, Dell overhauled its PowerEdge server line to provide its x86 servers with greater reliability, improved performance and the ability to handle tougher workloads. Here's what to expect if you're in the market for a Dell.

When it comes to blade servers, x86 is the most frequent architecture of choice. Bladed or not, however, x86 servers are not the perfect tool for every task. Non-x86 blade server options, while limited, fill many of the gaps that their x86 siblings leave.

Looking to buy x86 blade servers? Here's what HP, IBM, Dell and Fujitsu have to offer.

With its recent release of VPlex, EMC is anything but quiet about its private cloud vision. At EMC World earlier this month, it elaborated on plans to go the distance with virtual storage.

IBM has taken to the road with the message that Intel's Nehalem EX processors coupled with Big Blue's system engineering talents has resulted in a platform well-suited for virtualization, consolidation and mission-critical applications. Does the server hardware live up to the praise?

Analysts are predicting grim IT spending picture with longer life spans for server hardware, postponed refreshes and a surge in leasing highly likely.

Hard-Core Hardware: "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" -- will Nehalem EX be the cornerstone in x86 servers that are really as good as Intel claims?

As x86 servers increasingly dominate the landscape, is there room for RISC? Absolutely, says one prominent analyst.

As UNIX- and RISC-based servers lose ground to x86, should you consider making the switch? Is it the beginning of the end for UNIX servers?

With Sun now part of Oracle, how much has its server line up changed? Not at all -- at least not yet. We look down the road to evaluate the changes likely to have an impact on server room management decisions.

With virtual servers on almost every enterprise's road map, backup-related issues are increasingly on the radar.

Sure, Intel is inside the box, but did you know sometimes Intel is the box? Here are five servers that the company best known for its chips sells to OEMs and other resellers. Is one of these right for you?

Two new single-socket servers from Fujitsu are aimed at two very different markets.

Cisco entered the server market in 2009 with its Unified Computing System, a series of blades and a chassis designed to simplify deployment, particularly for virtualized environments. See how its offerings compare to those of the more established players.

Server Snapshot: Dell has pushed Sun out of the No. 3 server spot. Given the OEM's new array of products, will it be long before Dell's ascendancy places it at IBM's and HP's backs?

Hard-Core Hardware: Cisco Unified Computing System and HP BladeSystem currently lead in the all-in-one box market, but they may soon face stiff competition from upstart Liquid Computing.

Like a tenant who refuses to be evicted from an area earmarked for redevelopment, tape is alive and kicking. When it comes to long-term backup retention and archiving, it is holding its own against dedupe — especially among large enterprises.

Hard-Core Hardware: The age of solar power is fast arriving, and it may be keeping the lights on in a data center near you. The former downsides, chiefly cost constraints, no longer apply.

Hard-Core Hardware: Disk fragmentation is a significant problem for many data centers. Virtualization only makes it worse. Find out what steps you can take to mitigate it.

Server Snapshot: Penguin Computing has always, as its name implies, focused on developing best practices for Linux-based systems, software and services, particularly in the HPC space.