VISUALIZATION

MARLBORO, MA -- Egenera, Inc., a data center infrastructure company, today announced commercial availability of its BladeFrame system based on the results of Beta testing by world-class data centers including Credit Suisse First Boston, Storage Networks and ServerVault among others. The system's performance in these high-end enterprise and service provider environments quantifies the BladeFrame's ability to simplify resource management, speed application deployment and lower total cost of ownership. "Today more than ever, data center professionals face the seemingly incompatible challenges of spending less and contributing more," said Vern Brownell, chief executive officer, Egenera, Inc. "At the same time, customers increasingly tell us that legacy server architectures have become a serious obstacle both to reducing costs and enabling data center flexibility. While other suppliers announce point products that address only part of the problem, the BladeFrame provides a complete solution purpose-built to simultaneously simplify application deployment and lower cost of ownership by resolving major data center pain points from a single platform. We believe, and our Beta customers have confirmed, that this unique win-win scenario makes the BladeFrame the right platform at the right time." The Egenera BladeFrame system and its Processing Area Network (PAN) architecture deliver a new approach to computing by integrating hardware, software, networking and services to consolidate, simplify and virtualize the allocation and management of processing capacity. Using enterprise-level Intel(R) processors and the Red Hat Linux operating system, the BladeFrame represents the industry's first open, non-proprietary computing platform purpose-built for high-end data centers. The system creates a pool of computing resources deployable entirely through software. Thus, processing power can be dynamically increased, decreased and reallocated to support new applications or accommodate variable demand on existing applications without purchasing, installing or managing incremental equipment. "We see the BladeFrame as a unique opportunity to lower both system deployment and operating costs while improving reliability and availability," said Evan Bauer, chief technology officer of Investment Banking IT at Credit Suisse First Boston. "Our beta test unit has proven to have higher application performance as well as better `build quality' (fit and finish) than we had expected from an early production system. Our tests with both commercial software packages and CSFB-developed software have run as if they were on stand-alone Linux servers while gaining the benefits of the BladeFrame's failover/failback and high-speed interconnect features." "Egenera's Processing Area Network architecture allows us to provide customers with completely secure resources and remote, software-based management capabilities," said Patrick J. Sweeney II, president and CEO, ServerVault, Inc. "These capabilities, coupled with ServerVault's number-one ranking in security and 99.999 percent uptime SLA, give enterprise-class data centers the confidence to outsource even their most mission-critical applications. Moreover, the ability to easily reallocate processing capacity across a single platform enables us to optimize service levels for customers while increasing processor utilization and improving our operating margins. In our experience, the BladeFrame is uniquely well suited to the dynamic nature of our business." BladeFrame Release 1.1 Highlights BladeFrame Release 1.1 integrates hardware, software, networking and services to offer customers a comprehensive data center solution. Hardware The BladeFrame consolidates up to 96 server-class Intel processors suitable for mission-critical applications. The system consists of a 24x30x84-inch chassis containing 24 two-way and/or four-way SMP processing resources (Egenera Processing Blade(TM)), redundant central controllers (Egenera Control Blade(TM)), redundant integrated switches (Egenera Switch Blade(TM)), a redundant high-speed interconnect (Egenera BladePlane(TM)) and Egenera PAN Manager(TM) software. In conjunction with commercial availability, Egenera is announcing three Processing Blade (pBlade(TM)) configurations designed to accommodate a wide range of customer application requirements: -- Two-way SMP: 1 GHz processors, 1 GB ECC memory -- Two-way SMP: 1.26 GHz processors, 2 GB ECC memory -- Four-way SMP: Up to 12 GB ECC memory Engineered to complement Storage Area Network (SAN) technology, Processing Blades, which function just like conventional servers once configured, eliminate components that represent failure points and consume valuable real estate. This new approach to hardware design enables Egenera to deliver four server-class processors in a 1U form factor. As more powerful processors become available, customers enjoy a built-in migration path and eliminate forklift upgrades by simply replacing individual pBlades. Likewise, multiple processor and O/S generations can run simultaneously on a single BladeFrame, protecting earlier investments. With no local disk, and therefore no state, Processing Blades are completely anonymous and interchangeable--a unique characteristic that enables unprecedented flexibility. Software Deploying and configuring large numbers of discrete, conventional servers is physically complex, costly and time-consuming. Alternatively, the BladeFrame is configured and managed entirely through Egenera PAN Manager software, which provides a single point for configuring, controlling and monitoring both physical and logical resources. As a result, applications can be launched in minutes rather than days or weeks, creating a powerful competitive advantage. For example, an administrator creates a pServer, Egenera's equivalent of a conventional server, by associating an individual Processing Blade with disk and network resources through PAN Manager software. In addition, users can establish multiple Logical PANs (LPAN) on a single BladeFrame to allocate and configure distinct, secure resources for enterprise divisions or individual customers. With PAN Manager software, pServers can be dynamically added to or subtracted from LPANs, clusters and services in response to changing conditions. Using the system's monitoring capabilities, an administrator identifies applications that are over- or under-powered, then easily reallocates processing capacity while the BladeFrame is running and without rebooting. The software can also be programmed to shift capacity automatically at a specific time of day based on historical usage patterns. This unique ability to move processing power from one application to another without the physical restrictions of conventional servers enables data centers to increase processor utilization and lower total cost of ownership. PAN Manager software also enables high availability and true N+1 failover. An administrator simply defines a set of highly available application services and places them under start/stop control of the system. For Processing Blade failures, PAN Manager software automatically detects the failure, selects a failover pBlade based on defined policies, remaps all devices and restarts the application. For application failures, the software selects a predefined failover pServer for uninterrupted service. An administrator may designate a specific failover pBlade or a pool of failover pBlades for each pServer. Two types of pools are supported: a global pool, wherein failover pBlades are available across the BladeFrame; and a local pool, with backup pBlades available to a single LPAN. The BladeFrame operating system, Red Hat Linux, has been optimized to enable the Processing Area Network architecture. Fully Intel x86 compatible, the O/S features built-in high availability with an active/active architecture as well as world-class TCP performance. Red Hat has officially certified the Egenera system, ensuring customers that all Red Hat-compatible software--including vertical applications; messaging middleware; and popular database, Web and application servers--run out of the box on the BladeFrame. Networking The PAN architecture provides integrated network management within the BladeFrame as well as between the BladeFrame and outside resources--lowering total cost of ownership by reducing, consolidating or eliminating legacy components such as: -- Redundant hardware for high availability -- Clustering and high availability software -- Fibre Channel SAN connections -- Gigabit Ethernet ports and switches -- External cabling and racks, and associated installation -- KVM switches and related software -- NIC cards and network switches Instead, the Processing Area Network replaces error-prone, physical components with virtualized switches and interfaces that allow users to network processors without the restrictions of conventional hardware. Moreover, the PAN architecture channels redundant storage and networking connections for the equivalent of 24 servers into as few as four cables, eliminates third-party software and duplicate hardware for high availability, and provides built-in clustering. All physical and logical resources are managed entirely through PAN Manager software, resulting in a cost-effective solution and high system availability. Services Recognizing that the BladeFrame will be deployed in mission-critical environments, Egenera designed the system for serviceability. Blade components are customer-replaceable with no special training required. The system also features phone-home functionality. Moreover, Egenera can remotely monitor performance on a 24x7 basis and proactively respond. With every BladeFrame system, Egenera provides a comprehensive services package designed to anticipate the demands of high-end data centers. Installation and Training: Pre-deployment, installation and training activities include a site survey, hardware setup, networking and storage connectivity, boot and test of the operating system, and on-site instruction. Hardware Support: Includes a one-year warranty on parts and labor. Warranty service also provides telephone access to technical assistance on a 24x7x365 basis; Web-based access to knowledge databases, frequently asked questions and service tickets; on-site support from Egenera field engineers during normal business hours; proactive monitoring of system health; and overnight replacement of components. Software Support: Includes one-year warranty support for all system software. Customers receive telephone access to technical assistance on a 24x7x365 basis; Web-based access to knowledge databases, frequently asked questions and service tickets; proactive monitoring of system health; downloadable patches; and assistance with configuration and updates. Pricing and Availability List pricing for the BladeFrame begins at $250,000 for a system that provides full redundancy, an integrated network fabric, built-in high availability, Fibre Channel and network switch consolidation, remote management and software-driven resource allocation. Pricing also includes one-year warranty service on both hardware and software. Commercial availability is effective immediately. For more information visit www.egenera.com