Linuxgram komt met een artikel over de nieuwe generatie 'Dense Servers' zoals ze zo mooi genoemd worden: servers die gebouwd worden om zo véél mogelijk rekenkracht op een zo klein mogelijk oppervlak te kunnen prakken. We hebben het hier dus niet over fileservers maar veel meer over webservers, die in grote aantallen in server-pakhuizen neergezet worden.
De afgelopen tijd is er - zeker in de Verenigde Staten - een ontwikkeling gaande om dergelijke servers te voorzien van Transmeta's Crusoe-processor. Een voorbeeld hiervan zijn de WebBunker en de NetWinder. De fabrikant van de eerstgenoemde heeft wat rekensommetjes gemaakt over de prestaties van z'n WebBunker. Onthoud dat de Webbunker een 19"/2U systeem is met 6 of 12 Transmeta Crusoe processoren, die allemaal voorzien zijn van eigen geheugen en een eigen harddisk, dus onafhankelijk van elkaar werken. Dus géén 12-processor systeem op 2U maar 6 systemen met elk één of twee processoren.
In een dergelijke configuratie weet het Transmeta-systeem het volgens de fabrikant èrg goed te doen. Door middel van een benchmark die het aantal (web)transacties per tijdseenheid meet heeft men berekend dat één 533MHz Crusoe processor 700 van die transacties per seconde aan kan, waar een Intel Pentium III op 800MHz 1002 transacties behaalt. Dit impliceert voor deze specifieke benchmark dat de Crusoe 70% van de performance van de PIII haalt op 65% van de kloksnelheid. Dit, opgeteld bij de voordelen van de Crusoe ten opzichte van de Intel Pentium III levert dus een aardig voordeel op, vooral als je het stroomgebruik en de hitte-dissipatie van de Crusoe versus de Pentium III in ogenschouw neemt:
The numbers prove that 12 CPUs are faster than four CPUs, but of course we coulda told you that. That's not the point. The point is that the 12 CPUs are in a single 2U rack-mount. They take up the space that non-dense servers use for four CPUs at most, based on using a pair of dual-processor 1U rack-mounts.
Taking its math a step further FiberCycle says the result is that one of its six-blade Transmeta-powered dense servers can handle 4,200 requests a second, a 12-blade model would deliver twice that or 8,400. A standard rack-mount server packing two Pentium IIIs in a 1U rack space can handle only 2,004. Soon enough, FiberCycle will come to market with faster Crusoes than the ones it used in the tests, so the numbers for the widgets it ultimately delivers will be higher, but of course there will also be faster Pentium IIIs.
Turning to how much power each configuration needs, FiberCycle said that each of its Transmeta-powered WebBunker CPU blades uses an average of 12W. A 800MHz Pentium III reference system used 60W. What that means, FibreCycle said, is that an 84-CPU configuration of non-dense Pentium III servers needs 5,040W. An 84-CPU Crusoe configuration uses just 1,008W, a dramatic difference. FiberCycle didn't discuss how the figures might change if it ran the tests with Intel's new low-power Pentium IIIs.
Wie het hele verhaal wil nalezen kan hier terecht.
753)
1)
)
7KJD
Iomega Corporation (NYSE: IOM), a global leader in data management solutions, today announced the Iomega® PocketZipTM 100MB drive for handheld consumer electronics devices. A dramatic new low-cost portable storage standard for a new generation of digital audio, video, and imaging devices, the PocketZip 100MB drive leverages Iomega's proven PocketZip technology and offers two and a half times the storage capacity.
A package that will unlock three Socket A chips is $24. Installation can be accomplished in thirty seconds or less. adjustment of the multiplier or voltage means getting into your BIOS and manipulating values with your keyboard.
Sony Core Technology & Network Company Europe (CNCE)
has announced the introduction of the "Double Density
CD-R/RW" products with 1.3GB capacity, which is double the
capacity of conventional CD-R/RW media , from April 2001. The
World's first Double Density CD-R/RW drive (CRX200E-RP), as
well as the corresponding high speed CD-Recordable (CDQ-13G1:
12x write speed) and CD-ReWritable (CD-RW13G1: 8x write
speed) media, offer state of the art optical recording technology
and maintain the same features that have made conventional
CD-Rs and CD-RWs so popular in the past. The target market of CRX-200E-RP is 5% of
high-end CD-R/RW after market, which is estimated approximately 17 million units world
wide at the initial stage.
The other new model, the
H3635, is identical to the
H3630, except for a few
features. The new handheld
includes a Compaq Flash expansion pack, which lets customers increase their file storage or
gain access to their company's network for e-mail and Web browsing using a modem. It also
includes an expandable carrying case, a golf game and Peacemaker software, which lets
people transfer data from other handheld computers, such as Palm OS-based handhelds. The
H3635 is priced at a $599, compared with the earlier model at $499.
Though not uncommon when a new memory generation is first
introduced, the compatibility issue is serious enough to have
attracted the industry's attention and is being addressed, according
to Hidemori Inukai, memory vice president and general manager of
the technical marketing division at Tokyo-based Elpida Memory Inc.
