NEC launches new Linux-based fault tolerant server.Recently, NEC (NEC Corporation, Tokyo, www.nec.com, www.necus.com) An electronics conglomerate known in the U.S. for its monitors. In Japan, it had the lion's share of the PC market until the late 1990s (see PC 98). NEC was founded in Tokyo in 1899 as Nippon Electric Company, Ltd. Solutions (America), Inc., a premier provider of integrated solutions for the Connected Enterprise in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , announced the availability of a fault tolerant The ability to continue non-stop when a hardware failure occurs. A fault-tolerant system is designed from the ground up for reliability by building multiples of all critical components, such as CPUs, memories, disks and power supplies into the same computer. version of the Linux operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. that is available on the NEC Express5800/320Lb fault tolerant server. NEC's new Linux-based high-availability server and operating system delivers up to 99.999 percent continuous uptime featuring not only the highest level of availability in the IT industry from any major enterprise manufacturer, but the added benefit of lowering total cost of ownership. Designed to support mission-critical business operations Business operations are those activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders. Compare business processes. The outcome of business operations is the harvesting of value from assets and database services that require 24-hour uptime, the NEC Express5800/ 320Lb is the ultimate platform for uninterrupted system operation. The Express5800/320Lb hardware dual-modular architecture ensures continuous system operation in the case of a hardware failure. The NEC Fault Tolerant Linux operating system was built on the 2.4.18 Linux kernel The nucleus of the Linux operating system. The Linux kernel, which was developed by Linus Torvalds, was integrated with software from the GNU Project and other sources to create the actual Linux operating system. See Linux, GNU/Linux and kernel. , enabling any Linux application running on that kernel to run in fault tolerant mode with no modification to the software. Larry Sheffield, senior vice president of the Solutions Platform Group for NEC Solutions America believes that a Linux-based fault tolerant server solution is critical for organizations looking to maximize system uptime. "At NEC we pride ourselves in offering our customers the best and most innovative technology products on the market," said Sheffield. "NEC is the only major enterprise server manufacturer that combines the power of fault tolerant servers with a hardened version of the Linux operating system for use in the general server market place. By offering this combination to our customers, we're providing them with a natural platform for mission critical Linux applications that will not go down." More of the market is beginning to use Linux for its high availability needs through deployments in basic infrastructure and high-performance computing to a variety of database, general purpose and line of business applications. When a Linux OS meets 99.999 percent hardware availability, additional benefits of flexibility, reliability, efficiency and reduced costs come into play. For example, as retail corporations and e-commerce sites approach the holiday season, they need to operate around-the-clock with 24/7 access to inventory and sales records, as well as offer 24/7 support for customers, sales staff and partners. A Linux-based high-availability solution enables retailers to deploy additional servers easily and cost-effectively while maintaining the level of operation and support necessary to meet and surpass their holiday business goals. "The Linux server market has been growing rapidly, at double-digit rates, showing 49 percent year-over-year revenue growth from Q2 '03 to Q2 '04, and 38 percent unit-shipment growth over that same period," said IDC analyst Jean S. Bozman, research vice president of IDC's worldwide server group. "This pattern of growth implies that more powerful Linux-based systems are in the mix in 2004, and that their use has evolved beyond basic networking and infrastructure tasks. Although Linux servers rate well in terms of their reliability, they are increasingly being adopted for enterprise workloads, where uptime is critical for business success." The NEC Express5800/320Lb is offered with a far more reliable Linux OS, which is optimized for the fault-tolerant architecture with redundant virtual I/O (Input/Output) The transfer of data between the CPU and a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input to another. See PC input/output. I/O - Input/Output drivers for instant failover, Linux support for the hot swap of I/O and CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. modules along with support for dynamic resynchronization of memory and processors. The Express5800/320Lb features 2 Intel Xeon MP 2.4 GHz processors each with a 400MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. system bus and 512KB second cache memory module, enabling expansion of up to 3GB memory and up to 311.1GB of hard disk drive space that supports Ultra 160 SCSI SCSI in full Small Computer System Interface Once common standard for connecting peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, etc.) to small and medium-sized computers. SCSI has given way to faster standards, such as Firewire and USB. . These components are duplicated in separate CPU and PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). modules for synchronized operation, with a total of two modules each housed in a 4U chassis to enable redundant operation and higher uptime. The NEC Express5800/320Lb base unit has a starting price of $25,499 and comes standard with 4x2.4GHz CPUs, 4 modules (2 x CPU Modules and 2 x IO modules) for full fault tolerance, 2 x 10/100 NICs, 2 x 10/100/1000 NICs, redundant video cards, external USB USB in full Universal Serial Bus Type of serial bus that allows peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, digitizers, data gloves, etc.) to be easily connected to a computer. floppy, redundant 24X CD-ROMs, ESMPRO (our remote management software), 1 year hardware warranty, 1 year software maintenance warranty. |
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