Emerson Network Power has launched the Katana 2000, a new bladed server platform based on AdvancedTCA (ATCA). Target applications for the new server include high-volume data applications with media and content provisioning, as well as a host of suggestions for non-telecom applications.
The Katana 2000 is a 3U high server and can be supplied with one or two ATCA based server blades, each featuring two quad-core Intel Xeon 5500 processors with up to 48GB DDR3 memory and two individually hot-swappable SAS hard drives. It is not NEBS-compliant, but is instead optimized for performance in commercial environments at up to 35 degrees Celsius, and features front-to-rear cooling to meet ASHRAE and IT best-practice guidelines.
Emerson is positioning the Katana 2000 as being able to bring the "core values" of ATCA to a wider market by adapting and optimizing performance for applications that do not need to meet stringent NEBS requirements - an interesting proposition that has two levels. Putting ATCA gear into a more traditional (i.e. less physically demanding) data center would mean more markets, more production, more gear, and ultimately lower prices.
There's also the argument to be made that, in many telecom places and spaces, NEBS compliance is overkill and unnecessarily jacks up the cost of applications as compared to other high-availability IT/data center options. Emerson may have opened up a Pandora's box for service providers and developers who may choose lower cost over NEBS purity.
For more:
- Emerson Network Power Katana 2000 release.
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