Fujitsu Limited today announced the release of a new high-end series in its Primequest server line - the Primequest 500 series (three models) servers - with Dual-core Intel Itanium 2 processors, providing performance improvements of up to 2.5 times that of previous models. By offering up to 64 processor cores accessing 2TB of uniform main memory in a maximum of 16 partitions, Fujitsu Primequest is considered to be a high-end systems series capable of hosting complex business operations.

"Together Fujitsu and Intel are providing state-of-the-art design and system architecture to give enterprises the flexibility and freedom they desire for their mission-critical applications," commented Thomas Kilroy, Vice President General Manager, Digital Enterprise Group, Intel Corporation. "With more than double the performance of previous generation Intel Itanium 2 processor-based servers, mainframe-class RAS features, and improved energy efficiency, the new dual-core Intel Itanium 2 processor-based Primequest servers are ideal for application consolidation in mission-critical data centers."

According to the manufacturer's statements, the Primequest 500 servers integrate the Dual-Core Intel Itanium 2 processors with a number of architectural design features from Fujitsu to provide an enhanced combination of power and flexibility, as future enhancements built upon the Intel virtualization technology will host virtual partitions, delivering a wide range of partitioning options.

By combining the advanced eXtended PARtitioning (XPAR) capabilities of the Primequest servers with the Itanium 2 virtualization technology, Fujitsu provides users one of the most flexible and advanced virtualization capabilities on the market, as not only can system resources such as CPU and memory be partitioned, but I/O Units can also be individually partitioned to optimize resource allocations on a per-partition basis.

"Fujitsu Primequest 500 series meets the demands of the most sophisticated data centers by offering superior scalability and performance in a compact, energy-efficient design," said Akira Yamanaka, corporate vice president of Fujitsu Limited. "These new servers are a cornerstone of our Triole strategy, where servers, storage, networks and middleware are united to provide a dynamic and flexible IT environment."

Consequently, typical application deployments for Primequest servers include large-scale database and online transaction processing environments, legacy modernization, ERP platform, and database/server consolidation.

Among the numerous customers who have adopted Primequest servers include Vodafone K.K. (Japan) for sales support system, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (Japan) for TSE derivatives trading system, Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. (Japan) for the SAP system, and Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc. (Japan) for the CAE system.

Fujitsu announced that the Primequest 500 servers will be available worldwide in September. The manufacturer didn't mention the retail price until now.