The Server Room Blog

How does a Real Server improve your life?

keith.e.lauritzen@intel.com — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:22:18 GMT

I’d like to introduce myself as a product line manager at Intel who has spent almost a decade ensuring we are creating the best servers to solve small business challenges. Part of my role is to influence future generation products and I’d like to learn more about your challenges, needs and desires so I can ensure we address them in our next generation products.

Here is a story I have heard in the past: “Ah geez, What Now? A customer just called to tell me they tried to enter an online order for my product and my web site is nowhere to be found. I am lucky they called, but so much for spending a Saturday at my kid’s baseball tournament! Now I need to drive an hour to my downtown office to restart and possibly fumble with my server. You would think that the desktop system that I am using as a server would just work so I can spend my free time with my family and my work time growing my business.”

I can’t count the number of times I have heard a similar story from customers and colleagues that are trying to grow a small business, manage their own computers and have a personal life. The answer to their problem is simple, buy a real server based on Intel®Xeon® Processors that is designed to keep your business running 24/7. Our latest Xeon processors and chipsets are not only validated to run 24/7, but include features such as support for error correcting code memory and RAID for server operating systems that ensure dependability and differentiate a real server from desktop system used as a server. However, a small business should not care about all this technical jargon. I believe they only care that their server runs 24/7 without failure, enabling them to focus on business growth and life.

What are your small business challenges? I’m all ears.

Keith

Selecting the Right Xeon Processor Just Got Easier

christopher.p.peters@intel.com — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:33:51 GMT

Since we started the Ask An Expert discussion thread in the Server Room a couple years ago, I found that the community often asked for guidance between selection of server system type and processor number as IT professionals sought to make the best purchase for them.

As I responded to these threads, I realized there were a lot of the same questions occurring over and over again. I then thought that having a selection tool to allow the community to guide themselves through a few questions to help narrow the options might be a valuable.

Sometimes the world (ok Intel) moves too slowly for me. My brainchild on this was something I wanted to have done about a year ago with the first 45nm quad-core processors (Xeon 5400). However, our server and corporate marketing teams got a little distracted by the Xeon 5500 (Nehalem) processor launch.

However, after much delay I’m proud to introduce this simple, interactive Xeon Server processor selector tool that can help you choose which server system type and processor would be ideal for your application and business goals. With Three Easy Steps, you can narrow your choices.

Step 1: Identify the business environment, application type and primary purchase criteria
Step 2: Compare and Choose the processor family (7000, 5000, 3000)
Step 3: Compare and Choose the specific processor within that family

In this 3^rd step you can look at price, performance, power and feature set across multiple CPUs to help you narrow. Take a short cut and look at the most popular CPUs or expand your options and look at the whole range of offerings.

We also have a Workstation Selection Tool (this tool was what triggered the idea to create a server one)

Other IT and business value assessment tools from Intel include:

Chris

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Calculating ROI – Helping IT Make Informed Decisions

christopher.p.peters@intel.com — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:06:45 GMT

We created a server refresh ROI estimator tool to help IT managers make sense of the significant OpEx savings they can achieve by making targeted investments in new server hardware. In my previous blog when we introduced the ROI tool back in April 2009, I talked about the capabilities of the estimator and the benefits of server refresh. In the first 3 months, we have had nearly 4,000 users of the ROI estimator and of those users almost 800 users have printed reports to share with others in their organizations. The feedback we have received from users has been very encouraging.

CIO for major US hospital: “This would help my IT staff justify the financial value of the technology investment they are proposing. This has been a barrier to freeing up capital internally”
IT Manager for major US bank: “I used to have regular funding for technology refresh projects. It was a given for my budget. However, with the increased constraints on capital, I now have to justify this type of spending”
Technology Sales Consultant: “This tool helped me work better with my customer to gain a deeper understanding of their server environment and allowed us to jointly identify high ROI investments to improve their infrastructure”

I have also heard many constructive suggestions for improvement. As a result, we have continued to evolve the tool based on feedback from users.

Tool Training – How to Use: We heard that the benefits of using the Savings Refresh Estimator spanned many functional roles, making us realize that the use models for this type of tool and what users were looking for would vary dramatically from person to person. This has challenged us to look at ways to streamline the user interface (something we continue to work on) for different users and analyses. In the interim, we are in the process of developing a video training guide to help users understand how to use the tool to get maximum benefit. We have a pdf training guide today that can help you get started now.

PowerPoint Output: What would we do without powerpiont? J We received feedback on the desire to make the output of this tool more sharable inside IT organizations and with business partners in a powerpoint format as a way to communicate the opportunity and benefits for server refresh investment. So, we now have a powerpoint output option in the reports section that breaks down the benefits of server refresh for a variety of audiences from executive staff to facilities to finance. Everyone inside your business can benefit from server refresh and now you can show them how.

Secure Analysis: We received feedback that many users wanted access off-line either as a way to use in meetings when connectivity was challenged or to protect internal data from exposure online. We now have the ability for you to run the tool on your laptop to support these use models.

More … More … More Functionality. We heard lots of requests and ideas to expand the level of functionality and analysis capabilities. We have to balance scope, complexity Keep these requests coming. The following changes are incorporated into today’s estimator.

Virtualization to Virtualization Refresh Scenario – now included
Virtualization Loading: Can edit and change VM/server new and old
Custom Performance Data – enter you own performance data to better model what you expect to see in your biz
Depreciation Cycle – no longer fixed at 4yrs .. can adjust
Memory Sizing: information added to allow user analysis
Processor Description: allows user to cross reference data to other more familiar terminology.

Accuracy / Approach: We have also heard some feedback challenging us on different ways to look at refresh scenarios, especially as we learn more about how people are looking at and using virtualization and sizing their environments after refresh. Sizing is a very customer-centric and application specific task that is difficult to model in a one-sized fits all. We won’t be able to model every sizing situation, but are planning some future enhancements intended to help you self-evaluate.

I want to thank everyone in the community for their input on this tool and helping us to deliver a better product over time. Keep the ideas coming. Feel free to respond with comments here.

Chris

twitter: @chris_p_intel

"I’d Do Anything for Love, but I Won’t Do That"

emma.hitzke@intel.com — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:51:25 GMT

Remember that song from Meatloaf? I always wondered, “What is that thing he won’t do?” I thought of it the other day when I was in Europe visiting several Intel® resellers. What really struck me was that there is not a single thing these professionals won’t do to make sure they offer the best hardware and software solutions to meet their customers’ needs. No matter what the size of your company, they make it a point to deliver. They just love providing the right solution for every situation.

We spent some time talking about the specific needs of the small and medium businesses. The Intel resellers were really enthusiastic about the recent launch of the Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series. Now they have even more options to offer their customers. For growing companies that are looking for a competitive advantage, the intelligent and adaptive performance of these new processors are just what they need.

Whether you’re looking to transition to your first server or update your existing servers, it’s important to have the right resource guiding you. “An average small or medium company is totally dependent on their information technology these days. If their server is not working as it should or isn’t appropriate for their needs, they are in BIG trouble. Finding a reseller that can act as a trusted advisor in identifying the right equipment, installing it, and maintaining the device through things like Service Level Agreements (SLAs) is critical,” explained Olaf Pas, an Intel reseller in the Netherlands.

“We’re really excited about what the latest generation of Intel server processors can offer our customers. The virtualization capabilities allow us to aggregate our customers’ small business server, their SQL server and the terminal server in one machine. This can save them a ton on their electricity bill,” Olaf continues. And who doesn’t want to save? Finding the right server solution to help customers save money and get more performance is what local resellers love.

So, if your employees and customers are hungry for more data responsiveness and your business is hungry for more productivity and cost savings, perhaps it’s time for a little Meatloaf …and the expertise and attention of an Intel reseller – your local Techoloogy expert.

Learn more about the new Intel Xeon server processors:

Talk to an IT solutions provider: http://premierlocator.intel.com/http://premierlocator.intel.com/
Read this brochure for information about the advantages of Intel® processor-based servers for small and medium businesses.

5500 ways a server can benefit your small business.

emma.hitzke@intel.com — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:42:01 GMT

There are literally thousands of ways a new Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series based server can benefit your business. I’ll spare you the complete list, but let’s start with the major ones. When you ask yourself the following questions about your business and its needs, you may just find that getting a server right now is the right decision for you.

Are your servers getting old? Things change, and with the latest server processors, things have changed a lot. The new Intel Xeon processor 5500 series offers up to nine times the performance of a server purchased just four years ago.¹ Even though you’ll be outlaying cash for new equipment, spending wisely on a server now will probably save you money in the long run. From energy usage to maintenance costs to software licensing fees, it adds up. Plus, with a new server, you get a new warranty and compatibility with the latest applications. That means fewer hassles for you. Don’t wait until your server breaks, you don’t want to discover the cost of losing data and business downtime.
Are increasing employee and data demands taxing your systems and your staff? If so, you need the processing power, energy efficiency and reliability a Xeon-based server can deliver – 24/7 uptime, industry-leading performance, memory protection, and a server that automatically shuts down to save energy.
Do you want to improve productivity? The increased performance of the latest Intel Xeon-based servers enables your IT equipment and your staff to do more with less.
Is cost-cutting a high priority? With an Intel Xeon processor 5500 series based server, you can benefit from significant energy savings, the reduced costs of easier maintenance and need for fewer servers. By consolidating servers, you can save up on your utility bill. Check out the estimator tool www.intel.com/go/xeonestimator to see how much you could save.
Are you ready to implement new software? Some of the latest software advances demand newer server capabilities. If you’re looking to implement VMWare* or Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008*, an Intel Xeon processor 5500 series server delivers the performance your new business applications will need.
Is your company still using a desktop as a server? Then, now is the time to step up to a real server. Down markets are when smaller companies can take advantage of their agility. Plus, you definitely can’t afford downtime when customer service is so critical.

Ultimately, the biggest question is: Can you afford NOT to invest in the newest Intel Xeon processor-based servers in this economy?

Learn more about our new server processors:

Read this brochure to learn more about the advantages of Intel® processor-based servers for small and medium businesses.
And talk to your IT solutions provider.

Also, I’d love to hear your best reasons for buying new servers, so I can add them to the list. If you have already made the transition to the new Intel Xeon processor 5500 series, please share you story.

¹Performance increase based on Intel comparison using SPECjbb2005 business operations per second (bops) between four-year-old single-core Intel® Xeon® processor 3.8GHz with 2M cache based servers and new Intel Xeon processor X5570 based server. Intel consolidation based on replacing nine four-year-old single-core Intel Xeon processor based servers with one new Intel Xeon Processor X5570 based server while maintaining SPECjbb2009 performance. Costs and return on investment have been estimated based on internal Intel analysis and are provided for information purposes only. Performance tests and ratings are measured using specific computer systems and/or components and reflect the approximate performance of Intel products as measured by those tests. Any difference in system hardware or software design or configuration may affect actual performance. Buyers should consult other sources of information to evaluate the performance of systems or components they are considering purchasing. For more information, visit www.intel.com/performance/server.

Why Buy for the Little Guy

christopher.p.peters@intel.com — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:57:39 GMT

In my blog titled top 10 reasons to buy in a recession ,I discussed generic reasons to invest. While small businesses (and to some extent medium businesses) don’t have the scale to take advantage of some of the consolidation and cost savings gains discussed in my “why buy for the big guy” blog, the benefits of replacing older servers remains a strong value for smaller businesses also.

For those business owners who don’t have dedicated IT staff, your technology is depended on for reliable, efficient operation of the business. Technology is depended on to support daily operations and services ... like website operation, email communication, customer management, purchasing and record retention among other things. If not … then you (as business owner) must turn your attention away from customers and towards your technology platform – not something a you have the time or resources to do.

Before reading, you need to know that I’m not a small business owner but I do have a family (in many ways that is my business) and as such I have several computers at home to support the operation of my family. Recently, I experienced some issues with my existing computers that have put me in the market for replacement technology. Specifically, when doing my taxes this year and when trying to load TurboTax*, my computer did not have sufficient memory to support the new 2008 software version. Additionally, my wife and I track our finances with Quicken* and recently the slow performance on our computer has resulted in us spending too much time doing data entry on a slow computer. In essence, our technology now is limiting us from doing the things we need to do .. so time to upgrade .. and I am shopping for a new desktop.

These challenges are similar to what I foresee from small businesses when it comes to technology upgrades. Here are two examples of customers who, as a result of a growing demands and slowing performance of existing technology, turned to a Xeon-based server to streamline operations, boost reliabiilty, improve customer service, improve competitiveness and open up business possibilities for themselves.

ð Yellow River i-café. See How this small i-café went from a situation where a demanding workload caused hardware failures, leading to down time, loss of revenue, and frustrated customers to a situation where Yellow River saw performance gains and head room for growth by upgrading to an new Intel Xeon based server.

ð Lampworks. Read how Jason Harper of Lampworks went from “We knew that we’d hit the wall with our desktop-based server; it couldn’t bear the extra load. Our computer was suddenly a barrier to our growth, rather than a business enabler” ... to ... “We’re extremely excited about the growth possibilities that our new server gives us.”

As your technology ages, you have a choice. Typically standard OEM manufacturer warranties are supported for 3 years with purchase of a new server. Before you extend the warranty (for $800-1200 per server for additional two more years), evaluate the enhanced performance, improved energy efficiency and capability to replace many servers (either desktop or true server technology) with fewer new servers. If you are already at the end of your extended warranty, can you run the risk of server failure inside your business or can you afford the unexpected expense of a service call.

Additionally there are some government incentive programs, like the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that offer businesses accelerated depreciation (60% first year vs standard 20%) on new computer hardware which can lower you 2009 tax burden and accelerate ROI.

Is your current technology holding you back or in your way? ... If so, consider a new server.

Chris

On the Road to "IDF"- China

william.h.lea@intel.com — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:41:32 GMT

Hi everyone, I'm on the road in a couple of weeks for my first trip to China visiting the Spring Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai. While I'm really excited to visit China, I'm also looking forward to seeing all kinds of new technology in action. I'll be adding to this blog during the event and would like to get more ideas from this community before I head out.

Do you have any special interests that I could report back on? Let me know your ideas and I'll try to capture what's happening at IDF to share with the Server Room community.

Which Xeon is right for me?

christopher.p.peters@intel.com — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 07:01:36 GMT

I recently found this simple animation that breaks down the Xeon processor family into bite-sized chunks and explains which Xeon-based servers are best suited to meet common IT and business needs.

I shared it last week when traveling with customers in Taiwan and it was well received.

What do you think of this video?