Intel Releasing New 5500 Series Xeons and Components

Intel is releasing a bunch of new technology for Intel branded servers over the next number of weeks.

Here is an overview of some of the new components coming down the pipe:

• Intel® Server Chassis SC5600 Family (performance pedestal)
• Intel® Server Chassis SC5650 Family (volume pedestal)
• Intel® Server Board S5520HC (pedestal-optimized performance)
• Intel® Server System SR1630BC (1U value rack)
• Intel® Server System SR1600UR (1U rack optimized performance)
• Intel® Server System SR1625UR (1U rack optimized performance)
• Intel® Server System SR2600UR (2U rack optimized performance)

As always, when it comes time to put a server configuration together, there is the Intel Server Configurator tool.

One of our more eagerly anticipated models is this one:

• Intel® Server System SR1625UR (1U rack optimized performance)

The unit runs a passive midplane to allow us to install a high performance RAID controller to configure a RAID 5+0 or RAID 1+0 array for high load virualization needs. With the addition of a Quad Port Gigabit I/O module, the second power supply for redundancy, and a couple of 2.5” drive carriers to utilize the full 8 drive bays, we are set to rock! :)

It looks as though the Server Configurator has had a bit of a revamp too as it now includes compatible, which means properly tested, third party hard drives, memory and more.

Below is a screenshot of the new 1U’s configuration as we would put it together with the exception of the drives:

SR1625UR Server System

Good things are coming down the pipe since we will receive a lot more bang for our power and cooling consumption dollars!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*All Mac on SBS posts will not be written on a Mac until we replace our now missing iMac! (previous blog post)

Windows Live Writer

Hyper-V on Server Core - Hardware Considerations

Depending on an organization's needs and usage model, there are a number of configurations that can be used.

For those that require a number of virtualized desktops for remote access or perhaps a virtualized small Web server setup:

• Intel Xeon 3300 Series Quad Core CPU
• Intel 1U Server System or Pedestal
• 8GB ECC DDR2
• Intel RAID controller SRCSASRB or equivalent (minimum)
• Seagate Enterprise Storage ES SATA 3.0Gb/s Series

Where more performance is required for virtualizing high volume Web sites, CPU intensive Line of Business Applications, or a couple of server and a number of desktop instances:

• Dual Intel Xeon 5400 series CPUs
• 32GB ECC FB RAM
• Intel 2U or 5U Server System
• Intel RAID controller SRCSASPH16I or equivalent (minimum)
• Hot Swap
• Seagate Cheetah 15K RPM SAS

Another possible option for our larger clients is Intel's new 6U Modular Server that gives us the ability to install up to 6 blades that support dual Xeon Quad Core 5400 CPUs and up to 32GB of RAM per blade. The modular server supports up to 14 2.5" SATA or SAS drives that can be configured in many different ways relative to one or more of the blades. SBS on one blade, SQL on another, ISA on yet another, and the rest for virtualization or other needs.

There is a lot of flexibility to be had for virtualization and other server infrastructure needs on the Modular Server.

Whatever the virtualization requirements that our clients have, server capabilities today can bring about a very quick and reasonable Return on Investment and with their very efficient power consumption patterns significantly reduce the Total Cost of Ownership over the life of the server.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Intel SR2400SYSD2, SR1530AH, and SR1560SF Power Consumption

We have an APC BR1500LCD UPS unit that we leave sitting on our bench.

It has the facility to provide live readouts on its LCD panel of various power and UPS events.

One of them is the amount of watts that a device uses while connected to it.

So, to get an idea of what each unit uses for power we plugged each unit into the BR1500LCD on its own and fired it up.

Here are some of the results:

• Intel SR1560SF 1U with Dual E5440 Quad Core Xeons and 3x 750GB Seagate ES SATA
• Power Up POST: 205 Watts Peak
• SBS Boot: 175 Watts on average
• SBS Online: 145 Watts on average
• SBS at rest: 110 Watts on average
• Intel SR1530AH 1U with Intel Xeon X3230 Quad Core Xeon and 2x 750GB Seagate ES SATA
• Power Up: 175 Watts Peak
• Server 2008 Core Boot: 125 Watts on average
• Server 2008 Core online: 80 Watts on average
• Server off but plugged in: 8 Watts
• Intel SR2400SYSD2 2U with dual Intel Xeon 3.0GHz HT and 6x 500GB Seagate ES
• Power Up: 525 Watts Peak
• POST Initialization phase: 235 Watts on Average
• Windows Server 2003 scroll Portion of OS startup: 250 Watts on average
• Windows Server 2003 network and computer startup portion: 205 Watts on average
• SBS at work: 225 Watts on average
• SBS at rest: 205 Watts on average
• Server off but plugged in: 30 Watts

It looks as though the newer technology really shows its efficiency when running full tilt or at a relative idle as can be seen by the above numbers.

Obviously the 2U will consume a bit more power due to the additional hard drives and a more powerful fan setup. However, the older 2U still has a big hit against it in the form of power savings relative to the new 3000 and 5000 series Xeon setups.

In a high density data centre situation, that 50 watts at idle on the newer technologies spread across hundreds if not thousands of servers means a huge savings in power consumption for the server systems themselves as well as the power required to cool the centre.

The neat thing is, there are even better power efficiency enhancements coming down the pipe in future versions of Intel CPUs, the server boards they plug into, and the plug in peripherals. All of this translates into a bit of relief for those data centres already pushed to the limits on their floor space per compute capability, power consumption, and cooling capacity.

For us, it means we have seen a significant drop in our power bill with every NetBurst Xeon server we have replaced with a Core Xeon technologies based server.

That practical experience for us translates into a good selling point for the newer technologies with our clients. A server that saves them money even when they are not in the office is a good thing!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.