64-Bit Software
The availability of 64-bit software is a key decision-making determinant for many buyers. Currently, 64-bit versions of Windows 2003 Enterprise and Windows 2003 Datacenter are available for Itanium 2. Microsoft should release a 64-bit version of Windows 2003 for the Opteron soon, but at press time the company hadn't disclosed whether it would release both Enterprise and Datacenter versions for the AMD CPU. Microsoft has released a 64-bit software development kit (SDK) that includes compilers, linkers, debuggers, and performance-optimization guides for both the Itanium 2 and the Opteron.
AMD and Intel have identified high-end databases, business intelligence (BI), supply chain management (SCM), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) as key markets for their 64-bit processors. Software products in these markets, such as Oracle's Oracle9i, IBM's DB2, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition, SAS Institute's SAS 9.0 and SAP's mySAP Supply Chain Management, and SAP R/3 Enterprise Advanced Planner and Optimizer, are available in 64-bit versions for the Itanium 2. Microsoft expects to release a 64-bit version of SQL Server for the Opteron when the application's next release (code-named Yukon) ships late this year. Oracle says it's planning to make future versions of its database product available for the Opteron, but company representatives couldn't provide a timetable for the release.
With the increasing popularity of high-performance computing clusters consisting of many one- and two-processor systems, technical and scientific computing markets have become large consumers of 64-bit servers. Linux and UNIX have been the predominant OSs in these clusters, and support for the lower-priced Opteron processor has been growing in this arena. But 64-bit Windows-based application support for the Opteron has been slow to materialize, partly because the processor has been available for only a few months and partly because a 64-bit version of Windows 2003 for the Opteron wasn't ready when AMD released the processor. In addition, some vendors seem to be waiting for corporate-buyer demand to increase before committing resources to 64-bit Windows-based applications for Opteron.
Itanium 2-based servers can be great solutions for buyers who are ready and able to replace their OSs and applications with 64-bit versions. For those who aren't ready to make the move to 64-bit software, the Opteron provides impressive performance now in a 32-bit environment, while letting you upgrade to 64-bit software later. After upgrading your OS, you'll be able to consolidate your mission-critical 32-bit and 64-bit applications on an Opteron-based server.
Server Availability
All first-tier server vendors and several small vendors have introduced Itanium 2–based products ranging from 2 to 64 processors. IBM is the only tier-one vendor that has announced an Opteron-based offering at press time, but several small vendors have introduced Opteron-based servers, primarily one-, two-, and four-processor systems. Larger vendors seem unready to ramp up systems based on the Opteron because it's AMD's first server processor and corporate buyers might be slow to adopt products based on the new chip.
The scarcity of 8-way and larger Opteron-based servers is due in part to the processor's recent introduction. One- and two-processor Opteron motherboards are widely available, but larger system designs require much longer development cycles. To bring Opteron-based servers to market more quickly, AMD has joined forces with Celestica to design, build, and test 2-way and 4-way Opteron server designs for system vendors, Value Added Resellers (VARs), and systems integrators. Let's look at a variety of server offerings based on both AMD and Intel 64-bit processors.
Unisys
Unisys focuses on high-end offerings, and the company's ES7000/400 and ES7000/560 Itanium 2–based servers are appealing solutions for customers who require the highest levels of scalability. For those who need a large server with Itanium 2 processors, Unisys's ES7000/400 Series servers support as many as 32 Itanium 2 processors in two 16-processor partitions, each running its own OS image. You can cluster the two partitions to ensure uptime. If you don't initially need 32 processors, you might want to start with an ES7000/410 (from 4 to 8 processors) or an ES7000/420 (from 8 to 16 processors), then upgrade later to 32 processors in two 16-processor rack-mount chassis that have high-speed interconnects. An ES7000/410 with 4 processors and 4GB of RAM starts at about $63,000; an ES7000/420 with 8 processors and 16GB of RAM starts at about $120,000.
If you can't upgrade all your intended applications, consider the Unisys ES7000/560. This new server supports one Xeon MP partition with as many as 32 processors, two Itanium 2 partitions with as many as 16 processors, and as many as 42 PCI blade servers running 700MHz Pentium III processors. This configuration flexibility lets you implement a three-tier architecture running a combination of 32-bit and 64-bit applications on one server. And you can create additional partitions to isolate applications, if necessary. Like the ES7000/400 series machines, the ES7000/560 uses two interconnected chassis. Prices for an ES7000/560 with a 32-bit partition using 16 Xeon MP processors and 8GB of RAM and a 64-bit partition with 8 Itanium 2 processors and 16GB of RAM start at about $333,000.
The ES7000/400 servers and ES7000/560 use Unisys's Server Sentinel management software to manage the interconnected chassis (and their partitions) as one server. Unisys guarantees that buyers can upgrade the servers to the next-generation Itanium processor when it becomes available.
