14 DAY TRIAL // Sun Microsystems just announced the launch of three server systems which are coming equipped with its latest central processing unit, the T2, previously known under its codename Niagara 2. The three new servers, the rack-mountable T5120 and T5220 as well as the T6320 blade module, are powered by a single Sun Microsystems T2 processing unit that is running at a clock speed of either 1.2 GHz or 1.4 Ghz.
While processor manufacturing companies like Intel and Advanced Micro Devices are struggling with the design and implementation of a quad cored central processing unit, Sun announced that its T2 line of products come with between four and eight cores and users will find the three new servers equipped with processors containing eight cores (the 1.4GHz model) and six or four cores for the 1.2GHz version.
As all Sun T2 central processing units are capable of running eight separate threads per core and up to 64 distinct operating systems and applications in virtual containers, it results that the new generation of Sun processors are well suited for use in data centers or in other places where virtualization is used on a large scale.
The smallest Sun made server, the T5120, comes packed in a 1U casing and it can be equipped with up to four hard disk drives as well with a maximum amount of random access memory of 64GB, while the T5220 is coming with a 2U case and is able to house eight storage devices. The T6320 is packed in a blade server configuration and it too can accommodate up to 64GB of random access memory and up to four hard disk drives.
According to the news site tgdaily, Sun claims that T2 based server systems are offering around twice the computing power that can be obtained from the T1 powered ones. The T2 processing units can run at speeds between 900MHz and 1.4GHz and their power footprint can also be scaled between 60W and 120 watts. While the current performance level offered by the T2 processing units may seem impressive, Sun also claims that the successor of the T2 line of products will again double the processing power, resulting in very powerful server systems capable of competing with machines built by IBM or HP.
"Power efficiency is becoming the most attractive element of computing infrastructures," Sun Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz said in an interview and he was cited by the news site reuters. "We have a huge shot at being the leader in power-efficient computing."