Sun Microsystems will use its SunNetwork user conference this week
to announce details of an initiative aimed at helping companies
better utilise their data centre computing resources while reducing
systems management complexity.
The initiative, dubbed N1 by the company, will attempt to give IT
managers the ability to dynamically allocate hardware, software,
storage and network technologies to support distributed
applications, or services.
"The idea is that N1 will match an application, or service, with
the correct resources that will optimally handle that workload,"
said Tony Iams, an analyst at DH Brown Associates.
Instead of permanently tying an application to a specific set of
equipment, the N1 offering is designed to let users shift resources
as processing needs fluctuate, Iams said. IT managers will also be
able to set resource usage prioritisation policies to govern the
allocation process, he added.
Much of Sun's existing technology - including its Unix servers, the
Solaris operating system, Java and the Sun Open Net Environment
software suite - will be used as part of the N1 strategy, Iams
said. For example, Solaris 9 already features an N1-like resource
management capability.
But Sun will also roll out a series of new N1-related products and
services, starting at this week's conference, said Yael Zhent, a
senior director at Sun.
"A theme we have consistently heard from our customers is that the
data centre is not running efficiently because there is not a whole
lot of resource-sharing going on," Zhent said.
Another aim of the N1 initiative is to give administrators a much
more service-oriented, cross-platform view of their technology
infrastructures, as opposed to managing specific hardware or
components individually, Zhent said.
The user show, which starts on Wednesday (18 September) will also
see Sun disclose details about an emerging desktop Linux initiative
and new IT security software.