Egenera, a Marlborough, Mass., startup, has announced details of its initial product, which it says provides a "radically new approach" to data-center computing.
Egenera said its new approach to helping businesses deploy large networks of computer servers represents the biggest change in the data processing industry in 20 years.
The system is designed to allow corporate customers to install server networks faster and use processing power more efficiently, while also making the systems more reliable and easier to manage and upgrade.
William Hurley, program manager for the Yankee Group, said Egenera's new "BladeFrame" system "portends a new paradigm for allocating, deploying and managing capacity." He added that the simplified system could "have a considerable impact" for both businesses and Net service providers.
Egenera's system integrates functions -- including processing, networking and data management -- now dispersed across server hardware, operating system software and data networks.
The Egenera hardware consists of 96 Intel processors, switches and other processing gear contained in a box roughly the size of a tall, narrow gym locker.
The system is designed to work with storage area networks -- that is, systems on which data is stored on servers throughout a local or wide area network, rather than on dedicated pieces of storage hardware. Processors inside the Egenera hardware require no external connections; all data traffic can be routed across the Internet through the device to and from storage servers spread across the network.
The BladeFrame system is managed by software that allows customers to to allocate and monitor physical and data resources through a single control point. The operating system is Linux-based.
Among other benefits, Egenera says that its system can replace a network of 24 conventional servers requiring more than 100 cable connections with a system needing as few as six cables.
CEO Vern Brownell said his experience at Goldman Sachs, where operations at the brokerage firm were often delayed by problems with the data network, led him to found a company that could create a new data-center architecture.
"Realizing that nothing short of a totally new processing architecture could solve the problems my managers and system administrators routinely encountered, I founded Egenera," Brownell said. "We believe that our comprehensive approach to improving the data center will resonate with customers and find favor in the
marketplace."
Beta testing for the product is planned for summer, with general availability scheduled for fall. Egenera did not say how much a system would cost.
Backed by $20 million in venture funding, Egenera is a boston.internet.com 21 for 2001 company.
