|
|
|
TECH UPDATE
New Linux servers to be developed
Intel and Fujitsu said last week that they would jointly develop server computers that aim to push Intel’s chips into the lucrative market for high-end corporate computer systems.
The new systems, due for launch in 2005, would target so-called mission-critical tasks, such as managing a bank’s ATM system or a wireless phone network, that are too important to fail and have traditionally been the work of mainframe computers.
They would also use the Linux open-source operating system, which can be copied and modified freely — unlike proprietary mainframe or server software — and has been gaining ground among businesses because of its flexibility and low up-front costs.
Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker whose microprocessors run the vast bulk of personal computers worldwide, is trying to expand its reach into new markets such as corporate computer systems and handheld computers.
Fujitsu servers based on Intel’s 32-bit Xeon processors will begin to hit the market near the end of 2004, while systems based on future versions of the more powerful 64-bit Itanium, with as many as 128 chips, are slated for 2005, said Richard Dracott, group director of Intel’s enterprise marketing division.
Helix DNA server released
RealNetworks has made available the source code, or underlying programming blueprint, for sending video and audio over the internet, to other software and hardware makers.
The release of the code, called the Helix DNA Server, is part of RealNetworks’ push to create a universal platform for sending and receiving digital media in order to fend off cross-town rival Microsoft.
Late in 2002, RealNetworks had already announced two other components of its Helix platform: the software player used to receive digital streams; and encoding software used to convert raw content into digital format.
With all three components, developers such as mobile phone manufacturers can develop systems that can send and receive digital content in any format, said Dan Sheeran, Vice President of media systems at RealNetworks.
New server chip at Linux show
AMD took a step forward in its effort to enter the market for supplying microchips for data-serving business computers on Wednesday, introducing a trial version of its new chip and saying IBM’s database software will work with its product.
The moves came as AMD President and Chief Executive Hector Ruiz kicked off the LinuxWorld technology conference in New York with a pitch that the company’s new chip, the Opteron, was a powerful alternative to the offerings of Intel the world’s largest chipmaker.
Opteron can process 64 bits of information at one time, twice as many as most current computers, and will compete with Intel’s 64-bit offering, the Itanium. Both chips are designed for powerful business computers that can cost upward of $100,000 and which handle complex tasks like managing databases and other business software applications.
AMD, however, has introduced Opteron as a continuation of that architecture, known as x86, and is said to be better able to handle software packages that were designed for older, 32-bit computers.
“We believe in preserving our customers’ data from architecture to architecture, from application to application,” Ruiz said. Simultaneous with Ruiz’s speech, AMD said a 64-bit version of IBM’s database software for servers, DB2 Universal Database, was available in a trial version for computers based on the Opteron processor. The company also said it would make available as many as 500 Opteron-based computers to computer system builders and potential customers.
New computing-grid products
IBM has unveiled ten powerful “grid computing” products, its biggest push yet to drive the nascent computing trend into big business.
Grid computing is a cluster of servers and computers linked through the Internet. The idea is to link the computers — potentially in the millions — to make processing power available on demand, rather like water or electricity is in developed countries, boosting computational power while cutting costs.
IBM said the ten new grid computing products targeted the financial, life sciences, automotive and aerospace industries, as well as the government. To date, grid computing, known also as distributed computing, has been most popular in the research community. — Dawn ScienceDotcom Report
|
|
|
|
