A new line of mainframe computers being produced by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) could provide an energy-saving solution to the power hungry e-commerce industry, a recent report from technology analysts Hurwitz Group and Matterhorn Group suggests.
The report says that the mainframes—a Linux-based series called the IBM eServer z900—could replace large facilities (called server farms) that house hundreds or thousands of traditional UNIX-based servers. By reducing the number of server farms, especially in high-tech California, thousands of watts of electricity could be saved each week.
What makes the IBM eServer an energy-efficient alternative is its ability to combine the tasks of hundreds of servers into one machine. While a typical configuration of 750 Sun servers costs approximately $620/day in electricity to run, a single z900—running the same workload—costs only $32/day. In addition, the average server farm requires some 10,000 square feet of floor space compared with only 400 square feet for a single IBM z900.
For more information about the z900 series of eServers, contact IBM.
