dell inc

Dual-core Xeons show thirst for power

Intel has caught up to rival Advanced Micro Devices with its dual-core chips for dual-processor and four-processor servers. But with the chips, Intel still lags AMD in one important domain: power consumption.

Intel recommends server maker design power and cooling around a chip's "thermal design power." TDP measures the power needed to run conventional software at full tilt and is generally about 90 percent of the maximum power that the chip could conceivably require.

Intel argues that its dual-core chips, code-named Paxville and released in October, can be dropped into the same server designs as their single-core … Read more

Wise-cracking McNealy needles rivals

Sun Microsystems Chief Executive Scott McNealy took potshots at many of his peers in the computing industry during a keynote address Tuesday--even at Larry Ellison, leader of the company hosting the Oracle OpenWorld conference at which McNealy spoke before an audience of 12,000.

Shortly after introducing servers based on Sun's new UltraSparc IV+ processor, McNealy showed a slide picturing him in jeans and Ellison in characteristically sharp attire. "That suit! You can buy 14 of our new servers for that suit," McNealy quipped.

He also listed the supposed song playlist on Ellison's iPod: "… Read more

Dell begins shipping newest Red Hat Linux

Red Hat got another boost last week in its effort to get its newest version of Linux to catch on.

Dell has begun shipping Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, the computer maker said in its Linux blog.

Hewlett-Packard, the leading seller of servers with x86 processors such as Intel's Xeon and Advanced Micro Devices' Opteron, also offers RHEL 4.

Dell dabbles with open-source database test

Dell, not known for a heavy emphasis on programming, has released source code for a project that lets people test their database servers with a simulated DVD store.

The DVD Store Version 2 exercises complicated database features. It can be used to test speed or discover how much work a system can handle before reaching the breaking point, Dell said in its Linux blog.

The software is governed by the General Public License (GPL). It uses the open-source MySQL database, but future versions will be available for database software from Oracle and Microsoft.

HP likely to upgrade Xeon servers Tuesday

Hewlett-Packard, the leader when it comes to selling more units and generating more revenue than competitors in the x86 server market, likely will introduce new four-processor models with Intel's latest 64-bit Xeon chips on Tuesday.

Pat Gelsinger, one of two senior vice presidents in charge of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, will join a gaggle of executives from IBM, Dell, HP, Microsoft and Unisys at a for a Tuesday announcement in San Francisco. Intel and HP are mum about the details, but new Xeon servers are a strong likelihood.

For one thing, Dell announced new server models with the Xeons … Read more