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Intel’s launch of its new Xeon processor E5-2600 product family marked numerous firsts for the company and x86 data centers. The new processors deliver leadership performance, best data center performance per watt, and breakthrough I/O innovation features, according to Intel. Overall, Intel believes E5-2600 processors are not only at the heart of next-generation servers and workstations, but will also power the next generation of storage and communication systems.
In the run-up to the launch of any of Intel’s newest generation Xeon CPUs, most every server vendor and its extended family starts jockeying for position over who has the bragging rights for the fastest, biggest, baddest x86 systems on the planet.
Last week saw a pair of announcements by major vendors that reflect the degree to which solid state disk or flash caching technologies are moving into the mainstream: 1) IBM announced several key enhancements to its latest XIV Gen3 solutions; and 2) EMC announced VFCache, a new server flash caching solution that increases throughput by 3X while reducing latency by 60 percent.
A bit over a year ago, the conventional wisdom related to enterprise IT vendors was fairly straightforward: Sheer size and depth of expertise gave end-to-end systems vendors unlimited access to the high ground. As markets recovered from the 2008 recession, enterprise customers would naturally stick with or gravitate toward large established players that could fulfill their every need.
Like every other CES I’ve attended, 2012 was one of the weirder, more ephemeral, and most compelling technology events of the season. Weird because since CES acts as an essentially level playing field for both the ridiculous and sublime, you can literally demo a pricey next-gen OLED TV while a couple of dozen feet away vendors are hawking bulk wiring harnesses, electrical connectors and gizmos of every kind.