ServersServerWatch News Briefs for November 4, 2003

ServerWatch News Briefs for November 4, 2003

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The Latest Swatches

  • Zeus Courts Former SunONE Web Server Users
  • IBM Unveils Pre-packaged Opteron Superclusters
  • Opsware, Egenera Forge Alliance to Combine Automation, Virtualization Solutions
  • Avocent to Acquire Soronti to Expand Server Management Offerings
  • Zeus Courts Former SunONE Web Server Users

    Zeus is wooing former SunONE Web Server customers with bundling deals and support for Tru64, SGI IRIX, and SCO UnixWare; IBM unveiled a new eServer offering that features pre-packaged Opteron superclusters; Opsware and Egenera partnered to combine Opsware’s data center automation software with Egenera’s BladeFrame system and virtualization software; and Avocent announced plans to acquire Soronti and expand its server management offerings.

    Zeus Technology Tuesday set its sites on Tru64, SGI IRIX, and SCO UnixWare users currently using unsupported iPlanet/SunONE Web server software.

    Zeus announced a new package of software and migration services designed to aid in the move to Zeus Web Server. The offering bundles Zeus Web Server licences and dedicated migration support at an average price of $80,000 (or 50,000 British pounds).

    This offering comes more than 14 months after Sun Microsystems dropped support for Tru64, SGI IRIX, and SCO UnixWare.

    Zeus noted that since September 2002, such enterprises concerned about future security breaches or unresolved bugs were faced with the choice of either rewriting their applications to work with another Web server together with re-licensing existing third-party applications, or changing their hardware to a platform that Sun Microsystems supported.

    Zeus Web Server is the only enterprise-grade Web server that supports both
    NSAPI and ISAPI, which the vendor sees as a real boon

    “Users who have applications using NSAPI on these platforms face huge
    migration costs,” commented John Paterson, CEO of Zeus Technology, “This
    package will reduce a six-month re-implementation to a two-week migration,
    and users can keep both their existing hardware and third-party
    applications.”

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    IBM Unveils Pre-packaged Opteron Superclusters

    IBM Tuesday unveiled what it claims to be the first pre-packaged and tested Opteron-powered supercluster. The new IBM eServer Cluster 1350 can run 32- and 64-bit applications — simultaneously

    The eServer Cluster 1350 combines the eServer 325 with an expanded range of management and storage systems to help customers reduce the complexity of deploying and managing Linux clusters. Linux clusters combine open source software and industry standard hardware, thus providing customers with access to the power of a supercomputer at a fraction of the price.

    The eServer 325 uses the AMD Opteron 2 GHz processor and is designed for the demanding environment inherent to scientific and technical computing customers.

    In addition to the e325, the eServer Cluster 1350 can be built with any combination of eServer BladeCenter systems and x335 and x345 systems. The cluster can also combine x345 or x360 storage nodes, as well as an x345 management node, all using Intel Xeon processors running at up to 3.06 GHz.

    The eServer 325 offers a choice of AMD 240, 242, or 246 Opteron processors and is designed to run on both Linux and Windows operating systems. The eServer 325 provides high-performance computing customers with increased performance and a seamless transition for migrating from 32- to 64-bit server technology.

    IBM also announced that the eServer 325 with 48 Opteron processors took top spot for two benchmarks for high performance computing. The eServer 325 set a performance record for running Small and Medium workloads of SPEC CHEM2002, one of three benchmarks in the SPEC HPC2002 suite

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    Opsware, Egenera Forge Alliance to Combine Automation, Virtualization Solutions

    Egenera and Opsware Tuesday revealed a partnership forged to bring together Opsware’s data center automation software and Egenera’s BladeFrame system and virtualization software.

    The Opsware System automates a broad range of server and application operations, including system and software provisioning, change and patch management, application deployment, and configuration and IT operations tracking. The Egenera BladeFrame platform enables an on-demand infrastructure capable of dynamically allocating resources to applications as needed.

    The companies believe their combined solutions can bring dramatic reductions in enterprises’ IT operating costs by lowering infrastructure and labor expenses, and it will result in further IT efficiencies and lower infrastructure and operational costs.

    “By combining Opsware’s data center automation software with Egenera’s virtualization technology, companies can begin to realize the benefits of utility computing today,” said Sharmila Shahani, senior vice president of marketing at Opsware.

    Susan Davis, vice president of product marketing and management for Egenera added, “virtualization and automation technology dramatically lower total cost of ownership in the data center.”

    Under the terms of the agreement, Opsware and Egenera will sell and market the combined offering through both the Opsware Solution Partner Program (OSPP) and Egenera’s Assured Solution Alliances program.

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    Avocent to Acquire Soronti to Expand Server Management Offerings

    Avocent Tuesday announced it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Soronti, a privately held company located in Draper, Utah.

    Soronti’s current products include a virtual presence PCI adapter and a virtual presence stand-alone unit. Soronti has seven patents pending that cover its proprietary technologies. Avocent estimates Soronti’s existing server management products will generate between $3 million and $5 million in 2004 sales for Avocent.

    “Having Soronti join us will strengthen our server management offerings and accelerate our development of embedded technologies for servers,” stated John Cooper, president and chief executive officer of Avocent Corporation. “Soronti’s system management expertise complements our strategy of expanding control of IT resources through innovative technologies. We intend to make additional investments in embedded technology and server management initiatives to compliment the Soronti technology and strengthen our product portfolio.”

    The acquisition is subject to Soronti shareholder approval and is expected to close during the fourth quarter of this year. The purchase price consists of $7 million in cash and Avocent stock and the assumption of liabilities.

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