X86 Servers Doing Nothing at High Speeds

There are basically two trends on the computer server market, each with its inherent advantages and disadvantages, so consumers are constantly shifting around trying to find the best possible solution for their needs. On one side, we have the powerful behemoths of massive computing: the mainframes and the dedicated line of servers that come with special hardware setups and specialized software and operating systems. To buy them costs like crazy, but when it comes to the ultimate computing performance they have no rivals. Built by established companies like IBM, HP and Sun, the mainframes and dedicated servers are the kings of data centers worldwide.

On the other hand, we have smaller servers built around x86 compatible processors. They are not even close in term of raw computing performance to the dedicated servers, but they are cheap to build, run just about every operating system around and can be scaled up or down according to its buyer's particular needs. One part where the servers with x86 processors are really bad at is the fact that they work only about 10 or 15 percent of their total uptime, according to Scott Handy, vice president of the System p group at IBM, who was cited by the news site News.com.

Most of the time those servers are just sitting around, idling at full speed and waiting for something to do. This really becomes a problem as the energy consumption grows very fast, the servers requiring an almost constant high power feed even when idle. One possible solution would be to run some sort of virtualization software on a few servers and create a bunch of virtual machines. This way, an enterprise could save some serious money and make better use of its computing resources. IBM, naturally considers that the best method would be to consolidate all servers into a limited number of high performance machines, preferably the System p family built by them.

As about 90 percent of all servers running around the world today are based on Intel or AMD made chips (x86 compatible), the market is ripe for some server consolidation moves said IBM. All in all, x86 based servers may be more energy inefficient than dedicated servers and mainframes, but because of their much lower costs, they are the only solution for small businesses and enterprises or institutions.