The application servers are matched with an IBM eServer xSeries 345 management server which handles all the cluster administration chores via an Ethernet virtual LAN (VLAN). Each cluster configuration also sports a separate Gigabit Ethernet VLAN to connect all the servers for application internode communications and a terminal server network for remote console applications.
Although the current configurations don't come pre-loaded with applications for the target customers -- which include business research and development departments, universities, the financial and securities markets, and oil and gas exploration -- IBM is working with a number of application makers to deliver what Schultz called "personalities" to the clusters in the near future.
IBM is close to wrapping up a deal with Gaussian, a producer of research software for chemists, chemical engineers, biochemists, and physicists, that will let the Armonk, N.Y-based computer maker pre-load applications to clusters destined for that market, said Schultz. "The goal for next quarter is to have applications pre-loaded on these systems," he said. A half dozen cluster "personalities" are scheduled to be available by the end of 2004.
The top end of the Solutions, said Schultz, is a 32 node composed of two-way servers or blades, and is priced in the $200,000 range. At the low end, IBM will configure a four-node cluster built on two-way Xeon- or Opteron-equipped blades or servers for around $35,000 to $38,000.
Although customers can deviate from the pre-configured clusters, that's not the intent of the new offerings, said Schultz. "We've really optimized the clusters at these price points, so while customers have the flexibility to add more memory, for instance, if they start mixing and matching nodes, they'll not see the savings we intend."
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