Hitachi 1000 manual Introduction, Executive Summary, Introducing BladeSymphony

Chapter 1

Introduction

Executive Summary

Blade servers pack more compute power into a smaller space than traditional rack-mounted servers. This capability makes them an attractive alternative for consolidating servers, balancing or optimizing data center workloads, or simply running a wide range of applications at the edge or the Web tier.

However, concerns about the reliability, scalability, power consumption, and versatility of conventional blade servers keeps IT managers from adopting them in the enterprise data center. Many IT professionals believe that blade servers are not intended for mission-critical applications or compute- intensive workloads.

Leveraging their vast experience in mainframe systems, Hitachi set out to design a blade system that overcomes these perceptions. The result is BladeSymphony® 1000, the first true enterprise-class blade server. The system combines Virtage embedded virtualization technology, a choice of industry- standard Intel® processor-based blade servers, integrated management capabilities, and powerful, reliable, scalable system resources — enabling companies to consolidate infrastructure, optimize workloads, and run mission-critical applications in a reliable, scalable environment.

For organizations interested in reducing the cost, risk, and complexity of IT infrastructure — whether at the edge of the network, the application tier, the database tier — or all three — BladeSymphony 1000 is a system that CIOs can rely on.

Introducing BladeSymphony 1000

BladeSymphony 1000 provides enterprise-class service levels and unprecedented configuration flexibility using open, industry-standard technologies. BladeSymphony 1000 overcomes the constraints

of previous-generation blade systems to deliver new capabilities and opportunities in the data center.1

Blade systems were originally conceived as a means of increasing compute density and saving space in overcrowded data centers. They were intended primarily as a consolidation platform. A single blade enclosure could provide power, cooling, networking, various interconnects and management, and individual blades could be added as needed to run applications and balance workloads. Typically blade servers have been deployed at the edge or the Web tier and used for file-and-print or other non-critical applications.

However, blade servers are not yet doing all they are capable of in the enterprise data center. The perception persists that they are not ready for enterprise-class workloads. Many people doubt that blade servers can deliver the levels of reliability, scalability, and performance needed to meet the most stringent workloads and service-level agreements, or that they are open and adaptable enough to keep pace with fast-changing business requirements.

1.This section and other sections of this chapter draw on content from “2010 Winning IT Management Strategy,” by Nikkei Solutions Business, published by Nikkei BP, August 2006.

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