Big Blue rebrands its server lineup for e-biz<\/p>\n
By Zatni Arbi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): I still remember my early years in writing IT
\narticles for The Jakarta Post. I had no clear idea what a server
\nwas, let alone a midrange server, an AS\/400, an RS\/6000, a
\nDigital Alpha, a Tandem or a Stratus. All I knew was a PC with a
\n386, 486 or the Pentium processor. So, when I was first invited
\nby IBM to the launch of their new AS\/400 machines, I thought I
\nwas on a different planet.<\/p>\n
Looking back, it might have been because of the fact that
\nservers did not play such a crucial role as they do now. And that
\nwas also because the amount of data was not as staggering it is
\ntoday.<\/p>\n
The Internet was just beginning to become available to the
\npublic then. Another reason must have been that, at that time, an
\nIntel processor did not really have the power to run a server and
\nPC technology was still too wobbly to provide the functionalities
\nof a server. Some Intel-based PCs were beginning to be used as
\nfile servers, others as print servers, but Intel-based
\napplication servers were not widely known then.<\/p>\n
Over the years, we saw more and more dedicated uses of
\nservers. As e-commerce and e-business began to pick up momentum
\nin 1997, demands for machines that could run nonstop suddenly
\nexploded.<\/p>\n
Since then, data that applications such as Customer
\nRelationship Management, Web hosting as well as
\naudio and video streaming are creating has also grown
\nexponentially. Server machines are needed, because they can
\ncontinue to run even when one of their components -- such as the
\nhard disk, the power supply and the network interface card (NIC)
\n-- breaks down and has to be replaced. They are required because
\nthey can continue to work when new hard disks are being added.<\/p>\n
Today, people talk about scalability, reliability, and, most
\nimportantly, 99.99 percent availability when they talk about
\nservers.<\/p>\n
According to IDC's IT Forecaster, Oct. 24, 2000, four vendors
\nhave been dominating the server market. These are IBM, Compaq,
\nHewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystem. IBM has been losing a chunk
\nof its market share, however.<\/p>\n
While in 1997 its share was 26 percent of the worldwide server
\nmarket, in 1999 it declined slightly to 23 percent. On the other
\nhand, during the same period Compaq's share grew from 7 percent
\nto 15 percent, HP's from 11 percent to 14 percent and Sun's from
\n8 percent to 13 percent.<\/p>\n
The market share of all the smaller server vendors dropped
\nfrom 48 percent in 1997 to 35 percent in 1999. I guess one has to
\nlook more closely at Compaq's share, however, because both Tandem
\nand Digital brought in their own shares of the server market when
\nthey were acquired by this company.<\/p>\n
Servers on the range<\/p>\n
Not all servers are the same, of course. Basically, the
\nindustry tends to place machines with Intel processors at the
\nlowest level. When they mention an entry-level server, it would
\nin most likelihood mean an Intel-based server.<\/p>\n
However, this can be very misleading. As Intel processors have
\nbecome very powerful and a number of them can be used in a 4-way,
\n8-way or even 64-way configurations, Intel-based servers can be
\nvery powerful. The mainframe technologies that the vendors
\nimplement in these servers have also matched those found in the
\nhigh-end servers. So, today, you shouldn't be surprised to learn
\nthat all the servers used by your favorite news portal are Intel-
\nbased.<\/p>\n
But there is still markets for more powerful servers, such as
\nthe midrange AS\/400 and the Compaq Alpha servers. For even more
\ndemands, IBM, for example, still offers the RS\/6000. And there
\nare still the mainframe computers that not everybody can buy.<\/p>\n
Would you know how much these servers cost in general?
\nAccording to IDC's classifications, the entry-level servers can
\nrange in price from US$8,000 to $99,000. Actually, you can get an
\nentry-level, Intel-based Netfinity server for under $1,000. The
\nmid-range servers, still according to IDC, will carry price tags
\nbetween $100,000 and $999,000. The high-end server will cost $1
\nmillion and up.<\/p>\n
Now that the Y2K festival is over, IDC expects that the sales
\nof servers, particularly low-end ones, will resume its climb. One
\nof the reasons is, of course, the explosion of dot-coms all over
\nthe world.<\/p>\n
Rebranding at IBM<\/p>\n
From October, you will no longer hear names like Netfinity,
\nAS\/400 and RS\/6000 spoken at IBM, although they may still be
\navailable in the near future. As a result of a three-year effort
\ncalled Project Mach 1, IBM has revamped its server lineups and
\nrebranded them \"eServers\". The objective of the project was to
\ncome up with optimal server solutions for electronic business.
\nThat was the reason for the addition of the \"e\" in new
\ntrademarks, which is the logo of the company's e-business
\ninitiative.<\/p>\n
However, it also turned out that this choice of name might be
\nmore than just a little problematic. Another company, Technauts,
\nhad already been using eServer for the name of its software and
\nhardware products.<\/p>\n
Technauts has reportedly informed Big Blue that it intends to
\nprotect its right to the name eServer. Now, whether IBM and
\nTechnauts will settle out of court or whether IBM can convince
\nthe court that the use of the e-business logo distinguishes its
\neServer from Technaut's eServer, remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, there are several interesting and important
\nthings about the new server lineups.<\/p>\n
First, They do not actually replace the existing server
\nofferings, they just update what has been available. Second, the
\neServers come in several different series. All the Intel-based
\nservers, including the low-end Netfinity servers and the NUMA-Q
\ncome under the name xSeries.<\/p>\n
The mid-range servers, which comprises the AS\/400 models,
\nwhich are very popular in the banking and financial industry, are
\nnow called the iSeries. The more powerful RS\/6000 is now called
\nthe pSeries, while the high-end server from IBM, the S\/390, is
\nnow called the zSeries. Clearly, with this rebranding IBM wants
\nto reestablish its position in the server market by making
\nits product lines easier for its customers to understand.<\/p>\n
Third, all the new servers now support Linux. While the
\nxSeries may run Linux in its native mode, the other server lines
\nmay be able to host Linux through its operating systems. In this
\nregard, the zSeries runs zOS while the pSeries still runs AIX and
\nthe iSeries still uses OS\/400.<\/p>\n
Fourth, following the latest trend in software pricing in
\nwhich users will have to pay based on usage, IBM is no longer
\nrequiring its high-end server customers to pay for all the
\nsoftware based on the machine's capacity. Instead, these server
\ncustomers will have to pay what they use, and this helps a lot in
\ne-business where traffic may not be constant.<\/p>\n
In the weeks leading to Christmas, for example, traffic to B2C
\nsites such as eToys.com may be extremely busy as people try to
\nfind the right gifts for their loved ones. Similarly, during
\nriots and natural disasters, traffic to breaking news portals
\nwill usually jump. A charging plan based on the average workload
\nwill work well in these situations.<\/p>\n
At any rate, from now on, when you call Big Blue to inquire
\nabout a Netfinity that you want to add to your network, ask for
\nthe eServer xSeries instead. As long as nothing serious comes out
\nof the dispute between IBM and Technauts, that is.
\n(zatni@cbn.net.id)<\/p>",
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