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TECH UPDATE
Iomega tests low-priced, high-end storage product
Iomega Corp, known for its Zip drive storage device, hopes its next effort is as popular. The vendor has jumped into the network-attached storage market with low-priced products that offer high-end enterprise features.
The Windows-based Iomega NAS P800m and P850m servers are being tested by select customers and are slated to available later this month. The P800m, with 960 gigabytes of capacity, is priced at $12,499, and the P850m, with 1.4 terabytes of capacity, goes for $17,499. Both systems use dual 2.4-GHz Intel Xeon processors, dual Gigabit Ethernet cards, and a 10/100 Fast Ethernet interface to let users get access to files quickly. The P850m also includes an Alacritech Inc. TCP/IP Offload Engine, which boosts performance over the P800m by 20 per cent.
Despite the low prices, the products offer the kind of features that companies require. They have RAID software to reduce the chance of lost data, hot-swappable drives, redundant power supplies, and four hot-swappable fans. ATA storage drives help keep costs down. “We’re offering true hot-swappable capabilities and a PCIX bus for enhanced error correction,” says Wayne Arvidson, director of network storage marketing at Iomega.
Intel’s faster system bus
Intel Corporation has introduced a new Pentium 4 processor with a faster system bus and a new chipset platform. Designed to support the Intel Pentium 4 processor with HT Technology, the Intel 875P chipset, formerly codenamed Canterwood, supports dual-channel DDR400 MHz system memory, providing exceptional performance across a full range of multimedia and 3-D intensive applications. The chipset introduces two significant platform innovations: Intel Performance Acceleration Technology (PAT) and Communications Streaming Architecture (CSA). PAT speeds data flow between the processor and system memory to increase performance. The 875P chipset also offers a dedicated networking bus based on Intel's new Communications Streaming Architecture. CSA, in conjunction with the new Intel PRO/1000 CT Desktop Connection.
IBM’s eServer set record
The IBM eServer xSeries 440, using IBM TotalStorage FAStT700 storage, has recently set TPC-C performance and price/performance records for a 16-way server running the TPC-C online transaction processing benchmark. The x440 achieved 151,744.13 tpmC (transactions per minute/C) at a cost of $11.03/tpmC. This scalability and performance was possible because of Enterprise X-architecture, which allows the IBM eServer xSeries 440 to scale up to 16 Intel Xeon MP processors, and in the future, the x440 will be enabled to support up to 32.
“What we see today as Intel-based servers enter the high end is that technology matters a lot,” said Deepak Advani, vice president, IBM eServer xSeries.
Microsoft key code leaked
Microsoft revealed some of its coveted Windows source code as part of an effort to stave off open-source competitors, but a backdoor leak at the software maker released a different type of code that is sure to please pirates.
A key code for installing Microsoft’s Windows Server 2003 leaked onto the internet, a loss that could lead to widespread piracy of the software. Microsoft confirmed the leak and said it was investigating the matter. The leaked code appears to be from a Microsoft corporate customer that subscribes to one of the company’s volume-licensing programs.
Yahoo powers search engine
Yahoo claims that its souped-up search engine will provide much better search performance and more useful information than Google’s and be simpler to use.
The rebuilt version will combine Google’s index with Yahoo’s customized services spanning sports, driving directions and weather reports.
In just five years, Google has become synonymous with online searching. Yahoo played a vital role in Google’s rise. After encouraging Google to create its search engine, Yahoo raised the startup’s profile nearly three years ago by licensing Google’s software to run the searches on its popular online portal. To lessen its dependence on Google, Yahoo last month bought search engine specialist Inktomi for $279.5 million. Yahoo plans to incorporate Inktomi’s tools in to its search engine by year’s end. — Dawn ScienceDotcom Report
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