Reality Check: Server Insights : container

I received a new HPC Multi-core server today – Live from SC08

d-field — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:59:00 GMT

This week, I am attending the annual SC08 conference. For 2 decades, the tradition in HPC is to announce and demonstrate new products at the SC conference, and there is a lot to absorb.

For me, the event started with a 2-day HP user conference, attracting some of HP’s largest HPC customers. It was a very full 2 days, with lectures on many subjects from customers, Intel, AMD, software development companies, and of course HP. Even though I work here, I learned a lot about projects in other parts of the company.

At the SC08 show, I saw my 1^st HP POD – portable optimized datacenter – a 40-foot-long shipping container on the outside, and a self-contained computer facility on the inside. This excellently-designed mobile facility can contain 3500 servers or 12,000 disk drives, in standard 19” racks. Just provide a flat location, power, chilled water, and a network cable, and you have a new computer room.

To make the week more interesting, AMD announced the new Opteron Shanghai processor – higher clock speed, bigger cache, faster Northbridge, and improved performance:power ratio.

One of the good things about big companies is that they spawn startups. This year, a startup company announced a new HPC architecture at SC08. Nearly all the employees are my friends and previous HP co-workers. Check out www.conveycomputer.com

Views of the HP POD

aimeeschoaf — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:35:00 GMT

The HP POD had a very busy week indeed... and we had some great photos taken while it was in the Silicon Valley. Here are a few of those pics - thank you for participating! For more information on the HP POD, go to: www.hp.com/go/pod.

Look for the HP POD this Fall at an industry event near you!

The HP POD finds Yahoo... Photo by Ryan Knight

The HP POD introduces itself to Google -- photo by Holly Benson

Photo by Cheryl Edwards

Will Hayes says, "Wait, come back! You forgot to drop off my TV!

Photo by Carlos Mangandy

Congratulations to the winner of our "Spot the POD" Drawing!

aimeeschoaf — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:18:00 GMT

Congratulations to Kenn Durrence, who was drawn as the winner of our "Spot the POD" Drawing. Kenn captured the HP POD in San Jose.

Congratulations, Kenn! Please email aimee.schoaf@hp.com with your contact information!

Thank you all for participating in this promotion - watch for the HP POD coming your way again this Fall.

“Spot the POD” Drawing

aimeeschoaf — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:22:00 GMT

The "Spot the POD" Drawing is now closed. We will be randomly choosing one winner from the eligible entries on Friday, July 18, 2008. Here are some of the photos posted as the POD made its journey through Silicon Valley! Thank you all for participating! For more information on the HP POD, go to www.hp.com/go/pod.

Nascent

aimeeschoaf — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:13:00 GMT

By Christian Post

"Nascent: coming or recently having come into existence."

It would be a short argument to suggest that containerized datacenters are nascent. They have been developed and deployed for years to serve mobile, military, and disaster response needs. Yet we are seeing a ground-swell of containerized offerings at the convergence of unprecedented energy costs, a resurgence of compute demand, and the growth of business dependence on IT. One could claim the interest in containerized datacenter solutions has now emerged beyond background noise and appears to be forming a "nascent" marketplace.

Who is paying attention? Certainly enterprise scaleout, Web 2.0 and HPC customers. Containers offer shorter time to provision and noticeable capex and opex savings. More than clamoring for provider briefings, some users are developing their own concepts. Further, mid-level managers see savings beyond the 20% barrier that normally hinders proposing new approaches to executives. The datacenter construction industry is certainly taking notice: Here is a diversification opportunity in which to invest, a competitive threat to take notice, and a potential fad to counter. Container integrators, also, note the opportunity and are seeking partnerships to extend their reach beyond non-IT applications. Finally, IT providers are staking claims. To them, containers extend the sales and solution opportunity beyond the box, enclosure, and rack to a sales opportunity valued at 2000+ nodes per order and solution opportunity in which to differentiate. How long will it last? That's the problem with "nascent." The early adopter era nears and likely precedes the pause. In the pause, investors and watchers will reflect on whether the return merits the convergence of facilities and IT and the new processes in deployment and operations.

So who will be the preferred provider(s)? Consider the following criteria: First, containers bring together technology at the MEP&IT spheres. Certainly design leadership that offers density, cost, and deployment prowess are mandatory. Second, IT configuration flexibility will be imperative, especially to those seeking best-in-class performance per watt or heterogeneous flexibility. Third, unique services for deployment, break/fix, and management of containers must be included. Few customers would leave any of these three out. But one is still missing. As varied as there are datacenter strategies and building designs, few customers express exactly the same container design expectations.

Thus there is a fourth criteria. In a new market, the provider that can 1) offer sound advice on whether to and how to deploy containerized datacenters and 2) respond to container design modifications quickly with skill and reputation, will likely emerge most trusted for such a "nascent" investment. What do you think? What is "nascent" about the containerized datacenter market? How long will it last? What kind of provider best serves the customer need?