It has been a little while since I shared some thoughts about moving from RISC due to a 3 month assignment managing the Nehalem-EX product line. One word describes that product, ‘wow’, and the change it will bring to the IT marketplace as we know it. But I’m not here to talk about that….

David Bowie was certainly introspective when he wrote his “Changes” song about his need to constantly look at oneself, previous decisions and the need for frequent reinvention and change. The sentiments reflected within “Changes” can be applied to all aspects of life both personal and business. Reflecting on previous business decisions and looking for newer and better ways to do things should not be seen as the previous decision being wrong, but rather should be rewarded as looking to change and do things better based upon the environment today.

Previous business decisions to deploy your IT solutions on RISC based architectures was most likely the right decision at the time based on the business need, the solutions availability and the architecture available to run that solution.  Some of these solutions are likely due for an upgrade due to changing business needs, a better version of the application now being available or have become to expensive to maintain and support on older server system. It is time to make a change and change is likely to include upgrading to next generation of software solution and choosing a new server system that will perform and work with the software solution.

With the rapid pace of technology innovation and evolution over the last number of years, the decision is not necessarily as clear cut as it may have been in the past.

What I wanted to share with you was some information around how Intel’s Xeon microprocessor has evolved and can now compete with the POWER architecture offered from IBM.  Some of you may say that this is not possible, but Xeon 5500 is getting some attention as shown with information posted on IBM website

Price/performance is a key consideration for database workloads and $ / tpmC is pretty widely accepted as a good rule of thumb. Its good to see that the IBM System x3950M2 (based on the Xeon 7400 processor) has a $1.99 $ / tpmC compared to IBM Power P570  $3.54 $ / tpmC;-)

Xeon 5500 has a performance per socket leadership against a similar class POWER 6 2S system. This can be seen by comparing results at www.spec.orgfor benchmarks such as SPECJbb2005, SPECint-rate 2006 etc. IBM makes reference to performance per core leadership over the Xeon 5500. A fair statement, but most customers look at overall system level performance to do the require task. I guess my key takeaway is that if you are looking for a solution to run infrastructure type workloads and get the best bang for your buck then the Xeon 5500 delivers best price/performance

There is also some interesting discussion around scalability of Xeon Vs POWER6. Xeon 5500 is used in 2 socket configurations, and not in scalable systems. So it seems to be a little like comparing apples to oranges!. Scalable Xeon platforms are available in the market today from both IBM and Unisys. There are also 15+ designs for scalable platforms from 8 OEMs coming with Intel’s next generation scalable Xeon product, Nehalem-EX.  Some good material was shared recently at Intel’s Developer Forum in San Francisco. Look for Mission Critical Server Deployment class at https://intel.wingateweb.com/us09/scheduler/catalog/catalog.jspThis material provides a good overview about how Nehalem-EX provides supportfor high-end computing with a scalable micro architecture, advanced RAS capabilities and how Redhat will support Nehalem-EX scalability. This presentation also shows an example of the innovation of NEC who are developing mission critical Linux solutions based on NEC’s Scalable architecture using Intel Xeon processors.

So is it the time for you to change?. Are existing options like the Xeon 5500 or the Xeon 7400 the right choice for you? Nehalem-EX is coming and I believe will bring a huge change to the marketplace as we know it today.

What do you think?

How do I migrate my solution from RISC to x86 architecture is one of the questions that I get asked a lot these days. It is a very fair question to ask as it is only human nature to want some level of comfort when planning a transition.

There are multiple different paths available to migrate solutions and there are numerous different variables which need to be considered. There is no 'one-size fits all' approach to migration. Factors such as operating system environment, type of workload, whether packaged application and the level of custom code in your solution all come into play when trying to plan out your migration.

So, without writing 'war and peace' (an extremely long novel) I just wanted to share some perspectives and point to some resources in that jungle of resources that might help you navigate your way through a solution migration

Firstly, if your solution is an off the shelf application then moving it from one architecture type to another is a straight forward  porting and recompile process. Contrary to some popular beliefs there is not a whole separate set of application vendors and titles where the applications just run on Unix/RISC combination. Most application vendors have made their products available on multiple different operating systems that run on multiple different architectures. Unfortunately there is no master index or website out there that I have come across that would simplify the process of seeing who supports what application on what operating and what architecture. (let me know if there is something like this). Unfortunately it is a hard grind and requires a visit to each application vendors website to ensure that their application that is part of your solution is supported on your choice of operating system and your server platform of choice.

Luckily, it is not all doom and gloom and hard work. One very useful site around Solaris is the tool on SUN Microsystems website that allows you to check what applications  run on Solaris sparc or Solaris x86.http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/apps/

The last I checked over 80% of applications that run on SPARC also run on x86.

My suggestion if you draw blank here is to approach your application vendor and make business case on why they should support a Solaris x86 version. Likelihood is that the application vendor has a version running on Linux/x86 already, so getting a version to run on solaris/x86 is not a huge engineering effort. Mainly the application vendor will want to see some real demand so they can justify the support model.

There are also some useful guides out there developed by HP, Dell, Intel, SUN, IBM, Redhat, Microsoft and others that are technically focussed on the 'how to' migrate your solution.

Here is just a sample of some of the resources.

• HP www.hp.com/go/sun2hp. Not only does this site have material on SPARC, also contains material on AS400, POWER, Mainframe and other architectures. There is a wealth of information on all the HP options from Itanium to Xeon, Solaris, Linux, windows, HP-UX etc. Technical guides, TCO tools, migration resources etc
  another site that focus on providing migration assistance is www.hp.com/go/migration
• Dell http://www.dell.com/unixmigration. Don't get thrown by the title of the link. Some good content here on how to move an Oracle database and DNS server to Solaris or Linux on Dell system. Also content on why to move and how to get some support
• SUN http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/howtoguides/installationhowto.jsp How to install Solaris 10 on x86.
• Redhat http://www.redhat.com/intelligence/. This site has whitepapers, migration guides, webinars, how Linux compares to unix etc

Lastly migrating custom code is a more challenging project. There are many organizations with significant experience and expertise that offer services to assist in migration projects. Leverage these organizations to help. I know at first blush there may be concerns of the cost of paying for migration services, but look at the bigger picture. In a lot of cases the TCO benefits and improved performance will deliver business benefits that will outweigh the cost of migration in the long run.

Hopefully this is helpful. I would really like to hear what have your experiences have been with migration or what are the challenges that you face as you look forward towards migration?

Today's video blog features Massimo Re Ferre', IBM Senior IT Architect, giving a chalk talk on some of the scenarios where you are looking to "Scale Up" or "Scale Out" your virtual infrastructure. Check out this short video from VMWorld Europe 2009:

Interesting new article posted on Computerworld explaining how the State of Indiana saved nearly $14M by consolidating their seven data centers into one (plus a second for disaster recovery) while also reducing server count by one-third through virtualization.

We’ve learned that they did this by standardizing on the 4 Socket Intel Xeon 7300 processor based Dell PowerEdge R900s.  This is a great example of an innovative IT department conducting large scale server consolidation to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.

Dell IT’s own global standard virtualization model incorporates the 4 Socket Intel® Xeon 7300 processor based Dell PowerEdge R900 as the centerpiece, where they have virtualized more than 5,000 servers and saved the company over US$29 million using a scalable, worldwide virtualization model.  Click here to learn more about that as well.

Come talk to us if you’re not seeing similar consolidation benefits or savings, we’d like to help.

bryce

When Intel launches a new product have you ever wondered what happens in our own IT shop?  We actually do testing and look for things like increased performance, energy efficiency, and total cost of ownership. Check out what we have tested and our findings around the newest server….does it apply to you and your environment?

Selecting Server Processors to Reduce Total Cost Read about Intel IT’s analysis that has led them to standardize on high-end processors for two-socket servers for design computing and enterprise server virtualization.  Intel IT analysis includes performance and TCO comparisons of servers based on low- and high-end processors in the Intel® Xeon processor 5500 series

Improving EDA Batch Application Performance Read the results of Intel IT’s joint performance assessment with Synopsys of the Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series running Synopsys applications for silicon design. Results show up to 13.14x improved performance over single-core processors for simulation workloads, and up to11.39x improved performance for OPC workloads.  In addition, the analysis shows that one server based on the new processors can replace up to 13 servers based on single-core processors for electronic design automation simulation workloads, and up to 11 for OPC workloads.

Faster Chip Design with Intel® Xeon® Processor 5500 Series Learn about Intel IT’s test results of the Intel® Xeon processor 5500 series that show significantly higher performance for both 64- and 32-bit electronic design automation (EDA) applications over 64-bit Intel Xeon processors with a single core.  Up to 3.77x performance improvement for a single-threaded job; 4.98x for a multi-threaded job; and up to 11.39x throughput improvement for distributed jobs.

The industry has been waiting for Intel's new product, codenamed Nehalem - and for good reason.  With the recession in full swing and all of us re-thinking our spending habits, we are only spending our hard-earned money on the best and most important products and services ... and everyone is looking for a deal.

The Xeon 5500 based server is one of those products that is going to make IT, business leaders, financial accountants and Corporate Executives take notice.

Why? ... because an investment in a new server, used to replace nine aging single core servers, can pay for itself in an short as 8 months while dramatically reducing infrastructure space consumption, power & cooling requirements and operating costs.

For Finance, that means that a capital investment today, could create a positive cash flow stream within a year

For IT, that means newer, in-warranty servers delivering more performance per server simplifying operations and maintenance, with lower risk of problems

For Facility Managers, that means reduced power / cooling requirements and the ability to consolidate data centers and avoid new construction or retrofits

For the Corporate Executives, this means a more efficient business, with lower costs and more innovation that can spur business growth

Read My blog on the Server Room titled "Top 10 Reasons to Buy in a Recession"

View the 8 month payback calculation here

Read more about the collaboration of industry solutions in the Server Solutions Insider Forum and view the innovation from intel in the server room

Chris