Servers may not be as sexy as big data, but they are hot when it comes to virtualization, converged infrastructure and Linux
In the new world of big data analytics, cloud computing and social media, not many care for the old, big-iron world of servers, right?
Wrong. So very, very wrong.
Much of the discussion around enterprise computing may have moved to these more sexy topics, peppered by terms like apps, innovation and unstructured data bytes. But hey, where would you run all those apps or crunch all that data? There you are! On loads and loads of servers, often in football field-size hosting facilities but also in the tens of thousands of nooks, crannies and rooms that characterize enterprise data centers.
It is true that we have come a far way off the olden days of RISC versus CISC debates and the early doubts around the x86 architecture. But there’s still a lot going on in the world of processors and the machines that house them—the so-called hubs of activity for an enterprise’s operation. The servers.
As our cover package in this edition reveals, there are some curious things happening in servers. While the global server revenue ($12.2 billion) declined a little in the third quarter of 2012 as per IDC, emerging markets such as India continue to be the growth engines for top vendors, including IBM, HP, Dell and Oracle.
In terms of innovation and enterprise usage, servers are undergoing some critical changes. For one, the server virtualization movement in India seems to be reaching an inflection point, if not the critical mass. One where most companies and their CIOs are sold on the idea of virtualization. For many of them, in fact, the next headaches have already started: how to manage and optimize their virtualization initiatives.
In another dimension, the top vendors have spent big on prepping what they variously call as converged infrastructure solutions, engineered systems and the like. These are modular, scalable boxes packing an awesome punch—combining the raw compute power of servers with advanced capabilities in storage and networking. Proponents aver that converged solutions will define the future roadmap of box usage in enterprises. However, given that the user base is still small and the new solutions are often perceived as expensive, we’ll see.
What we do see for sure is the charge of the Linux brigade, especially in sectors such as government, education and online.
If anything, the next couple of years will sift the real “metal” of vendors from the scrap. Do stay tuned.
– Sanjay Gupta
Editor, Express Computer
