IBM's BladeCenter HS40: A Four-Way Blade Server with Enhanced Features

Strategic Insights -

IBM plans to make its IBM BladeCenter HS40, a four-way blade server, available soon. This new system will be powered by Intel 2.8GHz Xeon MP chips, providing 1MB of cache. IBM has been a market leader in the blade server space since the end of 3Q2003, surpassing HP and Dell in blade shipments and revenue. Big Blue is now focusing on expanding its BladeCenter offerings with additional storage, management software, and switching options.

Key Takeaways:

  • The IBM BladeCenter HS40 will be a four-way blade server powered by Intel 2.8GHz Xeon MP chips, providing 1MB of cache.
  • IBM has maintained its market leadership in the blade server space since the end of 3Q2003, with sales surpassing those of HP and Dell.
  • The BladeCenter HS40 is designed to be more dense than the HP ProLiant BL40p, a four-way blade server released a year earlier.
  • Interland, a company planning to use blade technology, praises IBM's design for easing consolidation through the integration of devices such as switches and firewalls onto the blades.
  • IBM's inventory includes one other four-way blade server: the IBM BladeCenter JS20, which runs IBM's 64-bit, 1.6GHz PowerPC 970 chips.
  • The IBM BladeCenter HS40 has the potential to simplify data center complexity, as mentioned by Susan Whitney, general manager of IBM Intel-based eServer xSeries systems.
  • According to Susan Whitney, customers have expressed interest in buying an infrastructure architecture for their data centers.
  • IBM has been utilizing blade technology as a primary tool in its infrastructure simplification initiative, connecting IBM blades with IBM zSeries mainframes to decrease data center complexity.

Statistics:

  • IBM's sales of blade shipmenets and revenue have surpassed those of HP and Dell.
  • HP ProLiant BL40p, a four-way blade server, was released a year before the IBM BladeCenter HS40.
  • The BladeCenter HS40 will be more dense than the HP ProLiant BL40p.
  • IBM's BladeCenter HS40 will be powered by Intel 2.8GHz Xeon MP chips.
  • The system will provide 1MB of cache.

Sources:

  • "IBM's IBM Blade Center HS40, a four-way blade server powered by Intel Xeon chips, will soon be available." (Burt, Jeffrey)
  • "IBM plans to announce later in 1Q2004 the general availability of IBM BladeCenter JS20, the first blade server to run IBM's 64-bit, 1.6GHz PowerPC 970 chips." (Burt, Jeffrey)
  • "IBM started its blade launches about a year ago and was the market leader by the end of 3Q2003." (Burt, Jeffrey)
  • "Big Blue is now looking at more storage, management software, and switching options for BladeCenter systems." (Burt, Jeffrey)
  • "Susan Whitney, general manager of IBM Intel-based eServer xSeries systems, says customers have indicated that they want to buy an infrastructure architecture." (Burt, Jeffrey)
  • "IBM has also been using blade technology as a primary tool in its infrastructure simplification initiative, which connects IBM blades with IBM zSeries mainframes to decrease data center complexity." (Burt, Jeffrey)
  • "A spokesman for Interland, which plans to use blade technology, says IBM's design, which allows integration of devices including switches and firewalls onto the blades, eases consolidation." (Burt, Jeffrey)