ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Workspace IT / Desktop Hardware

Top server makers rally around InfiniBand

By Stephen Shankland, CNET News, 19 December, 2002 11:49

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

InfiniBand, IBM, Intel, Dell, HP, Networking

NEWS
Three of the top four server sellers are rallying around InfiniBand, giving a shot in the arm to a high-speed networking technology that's suffered recent setbacks. IBM, Sun Microsystems and Dell Computer took to the campaign trail this week, announcing that they see an important, if scaled-back, role for the technology in their servers. Hewlett-Packard, however, is linking its InfiniBand adoption on widespread customer interest. IBM in the first quarter of 2003 will begin installing InfiniBand-connected groups of computers for housing databases and performing high-speed calculations. Dell agrees with that approach, while Sun is building InfiniBand into its entire product line. "We believe we're at the point in time where the technology is maturing," said Subodh Bapat, chief technology officer for Sun's lower-end servers. "We believe it will offer some compelling performance improvement for the next generation of data center applications." InfiniBand, a technology that can transfer data at 10 gigabits per second with minimal delays, was once poised to sweep the industry with backing from IBM, HP, Compaq Computer, Dell, Sun, Intel and Microsoft. In recent months, though, Intel and Microsoft have distanced themselves. Advocates no longer expect InfiniBand to replace the universally used PCI data pathway -- its first mission -- but rather to be used as a fabric to connect servers and storage systems that reside within data centers. One use will be to connect lower-end systems together so they can share the onerous computing chore of storing databases of information. Another is joining low-end servers into a supercomputer. Not all are so bullish. HP -- one of the inventors of InfiniBand -- was conspicuously absent from the joint announcement. "We're taking a wait-and-see approach. We don't believe that it's really lived up to the hype," the company said in a statement. "We're in the camp more with Microsoft and Intel right now. If we start hearing some noise (from customers), we'll start looking at it." HP's rivals are sticking to their guns. Sun will use InfiniBand as a means of linking its "blade" servers together within a single chassis, beginning with the second-generation products coming in 2004, Bapat said. At some point after that, Sun will use InfiniBand in its mid-range and high-end servers as a way to join the systems together, he said. In addition, Sun will use InfiniBand in its storage systems and will equip its Solaris operating system with InfiniBand interfaces so software companies can take advantage of it. IBM will use InfiniBand in all four of its server lines -- xSeries Intel-based servers, pSeries Unix servers, iSeries mid-range servers and top-end zSeries mainframes. First will come the Intel server line, with uses in clustered databases and supercomputers, said Tom Bradicich, chief technology officer of IBM's xSeries line. Then, in 2004 or early 2005, InfiniBand will be incorporated into the rest of the line. Dell agrees with IBM's approach -- clustered databases and supercomputers, said Jimmy Pike, director for server architecture and technology. Its blade servers are built to use InfiniBand if Dell so chooses, and the company has management software in place for its "InfiniBand-read" servers. Many of the InfiniBand applications these three companies are contemplating for InfiniBand don't require major changes, however. InfiniBand support can be added by plugging a card into a server's PCI slot. The server support for InfiniBand for the some time will rely on these add-in cards, Bradicich said. InfiniBand has had delays. Earlier in its life, advocates had hoped InfiniBand products would arrive in late 2001. Now, Mellanox, which specialises in chips for InfiniBand products, believes it will be broadly adopted in 2003. "It has taken longer to get the whole solution in place than was thought a year ago, but it is coming together well," said Dana Krelle, newly appointed vice president of marketing at Mellanox. InfiniBand's 10 gigabit-per-second speed is attained using four wires. This "4x" version will be joined by a 30 gigabit-per-second "12x" version in three years or so, Bapat said. In addition, Bradicich said, faster versions of InfiniBand are on the drawing board.
See the Hardware News Section for the latest update on everything from MP3 players and PDAs to supercomputing. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Related stories

InfiniBand reborn for supercomputing

Apple bucks a falling PC trend in UK and France

Apple takes top PC spot from HP

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

5 hours ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

7 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

7 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

9 hours ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

10 hours ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

10 hours ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

11 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

11 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

12 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

12 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

12 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

12 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

12 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

16 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

17 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

17 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

18 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

19 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
Marcus Karlsson

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

20 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
apexwm

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

1 day ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Latest in Desktop Hardware

Apple bucks a falling PC trend in UK and France

Apple takes top PC spot from HP

Featured white papers

Tech breakthroughs to watch in 2012

ZDNet UK

Tech breakthroughs to watch in 2012

From invisibility cloaks to virtual atom smashing, from Cern to Nasa, this ZDNet UK guide presents the discoveries to watch in... Read more

10 must-read silicon.com Cheat Sheets

silicon.com

10 must-read silicon.com Cheat Sheets

This exclusive e-book covers 10 of the most important issues facing business and technology professionals today, from cloud computing to... Read more

The virtual presenter's handbook

Citrix Online

The virtual presenter's handbook

Web seminars or webinars can be interactive and engaging, just like having every person in the same room, and this white paper outlines how they can benefit your... Read more

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault