NEC Launches Blade Server Products

Blades are the supermodels of the server world, obsessed with their waist size and ceaselessly striving for power and popularity. NEC is a purveyor of the svelte computers and just told us about its new Express5800/BladeServer server that squeezes components like the CPU and memory on a board measuring 128mm x 334mm. The Express5800/BladeServer is capable of carrying up to two Pentium III 1.26GHz-S processors. Up to six units can fit in a in 3U (1U=44.45mm height) enclosure to create up to a twelve-CPU server system in 3U height. Features include a large capacity hard disk drive and a network-based server management function. Express5800/Blade Server runs on Windows 2000 Server and Linux. Shipment will start in mid-February 2002 in Japan, priced starting at 121,000 yen. Up to two 3.5" HDD units can be connected to the system, for a maximum 160 GB of data capacity. All models come with three Ethernet ports and a 64-bit expansion slot. Server management tools include ESMPRO/ServerAgent for monitoring the status of each BladeServer, ESMPRO/ServerManager for altering BIOS configuration, and Baseboard Management Controller for executing tasks like rebooting from remote locations. In addition to the high-end Pentium III 1.26GHz-S model, NEC is also offering a Celeron 850MHz-based entry model and two Internet-appliance models.