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Dell Rolls Out Two New High-Performance Multiprocessor Servers
Dell Wednesday rolled out two new high-performance, four-processor servers targeted at database processing and other enterprise-level data center uses. The company also announced the Data Center Environment Assessment, a service aimed at helping customers analyze their current data centers in order to appropriately design for air flow and power requirements of more demanding server environments.
The Dell PowerEdge 6800 and PowerEdge 6850 each feature four 64-bit Intel Xeon MP (multiprocessor) CPUs. In addition, the servers offer the latest core technologies, including DDR2-400 ECC memory and PCI Express I/O, and they deliver performance that is up to 32 percent higher than previous Dell four-processor servers, an official of the Round Rock, Texas company said.
“These are very high-end data center-oriented products,” says Jeff Clarke,
senior vice president of Dell’s enterprise product group.
The two servers will come in two cache configurations: one with 8 MB of level three cache, or one with a smaller level two cache and a faster processor speed. Servers with large level three cache are optimized for handling large blocks of data in order to meet customers’ database processing needs, while servers with faster processor speed are better adapted for more processor-intensive uses.
Both servers also feature “hot pluggable” hard drives and power supplies, Clarke adds.
The PowerEdge 6800 and 6850 have been tested and validated for 32-bit configurations of Oracle Database 10g, Oracle Database 9i and Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC), according to Charles Rozwat, executive vice president of development for server technologies at Oracle Corp. Dell officials say the servers have also been validated with Microsoft SQL Server. Later this year, Dell will offer 64-bit releases of Oracle 10g and 10g RAC, as well as SQL Server 2005 running on Windows Server 2003 64-bit Edition. Dell will also offer Red Hat Enterprise Linux in the same timeframe.
The PowerEdge 6800 and 6850 will be available in coming weeks starting at $3,999 and $4,899, respectively.
Dell’s new environment assessment service is designed for customers whose data centers range from as little as 200 square-feet to more than 10,000 square feet. The fixed-scope, fixed-price offering starts at $5,000. The service is available now in the United States, and the company plans to roll it out throughout the rest of the Americas and Europe later this year.
About the Author
Stuart J. Johnston has covered technology, especially Microsoft, since February 1988 for InfoWorld, Computerworld, Information Week, and PC World, as well as for Enterprise Developer, XML & Web Services, and .NET magazines.