Micro-servers are being watched by the data center market

While the rack and blade servers dominate the data center, we cannot overlook the advantages of micro-servers in an enterprise environment. Micro-server Lean on computing resources there are a number of solutions to maximize the cost-effectiveness of low-end servers.

Deep understanding of micro-servers

The way in which micro-servers are sold is likely to be a major cause of neglect by enterprise users. Vendors position micro servers as solutions for small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMBs) that need servers but do not plan to invest in racks or blades.

The cost of a micro-server is less than 400 dollars, and it is hard to have a place in the data center. But the mini server is not only a device to fill the gap between PCs and servers. Vendors typically provide server-level components for micro-servers, albeit at a relatively low end.

For example, most has Proliant Microserver series mini servers have a dual-core AMD Turion CPU, with a frequency of 1.5GHz. The series server is designed to be mute (22db) and energy-saving, with power consumption only 150W. Even so, these systems provide server-level functionality, including error detection and correction (ECC) memory, and built-in RAID controllers, which support four SATA disk drives and place a 3.5-inch large hard drive rack.

HP Proliant microserver series servers are priced between $349 and $899, depending on the amount of actual installed memory-maximum 8gb--and the need to preinstall Microsoft ' s Sgt Business Server 2011 Essentials System.

When HP moves a micro server into the SMB market, Dell wants to break into the data center market with the micro server. The Dell PowerEdge C5125 includes a quad-core AMD Phenom II processor and 16GB of RAM, providing higher performance relative to HP Micro servers.

So what is the difference between the PowerEdge C5125 and other micro servers? The HP Proliant microserver series server is a mini tower chassis, and Dell's micro server is more like a blade server. The PowerEdge C5125 is designed to be installed in a 3U rack-mounted enclosure. The chassis provides a 1400W dual hot-swappable power supply, which can support 12 micro-server modules.

Other members of the Dell C Series include C5220 and C6145. The price and optional functionality of the C-series server depends largely on the selection and the number of server modules included.

Let the mini server start working

Micro-servers do not have the same performance as traditional servers, but they are ideal for hosting small or temporary jobs, without the need for large amounts of resources like high-end servers.

Almost all modern rack or blade servers contain 8 or more CPU cores. Having such a large number of cores is important for running a virtual machine host or applying high computing requirements. There are also server roles-such as Web servers-that do not benefit from a multiple CPU core. Micro-servers can be used for virtualization--support for online migrations, snapshots and other virtualization--but one disadvantage is that this small server cannot host too many virtual machines.

Dell's Data center Solutions team is recently working with Online.net, a large hosting company, to build data centers using Dell micro-servers. Each micro-server has a single CPU and runs an independent application. Low price points and compact device profiles facilitate rapid and large-scale deployment of Dell micro-servers. Micro-servers are also ideal for family use.

Micro-servers can also be used for short-term enterprise projects. For example, many insurance companies deploy additional technical facilities servers and application servers during the open enrollment period. Given this nature of deployment, organizations typically choose virtual Machine servers. When comparing micro servers that deploy a single application to the enterprise-class servers needed to create a virtual machine server, it is more economical to purchase a micro-server from the cost overhead.

Managing Micro-Servers

While micro-servers are suitable for many scenarios, administrators also need to consider manageability before any deployment decision. Traditional enterprise-class servers provide hardware-level management tools based on the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) standard. Enterprise Servers can also use software-level management, such as Dell OpenManage or HP System Insight Manager.

Micro-servers generally do not contain granular control and system manageability, and existing data center management tools may not be integrated with micro-servers. The Dell C5220, for example, provides an embedded base board Management Controller (BMC) that supports IPMI 2.0, which is managed independently of Ethernet. Nevertheless, it is important to discuss and test the manageability and compatibility of the system with the manufacturer to ensure that the device is integrated with the existing management framework.

TechTarget Chinese original content, original link: http://www.searchdatacenter.com.cn/showcontent_58605.htm

(Responsible editor: Lu Guang)