Blade servers are finally gaining acceptance in
enterprise computing, research from industry analysts has
shown.
Interviews with 130 top server professionals by analyst firm
TheInfoPro revealed that users are evenly split between “scaling
out” – boosting processing power by adding small units such as
blades – and using virtualisation to add processing power, the
blade option is no longer taking a backseat to virtualisation.
More than 85% of those interviewed in the second quarter of 2006
reported that blade servers were either “valuable” or “critical” to
their long-term server plans.
The findings show increased acceptance of the use of blade
servers since an earlier wave of research, carried out in the last
quarter of 2005. Then, 6% of respondents said they had no interest
in blades while another 8% said they were skeptical. The new
interviews produced no negative responses.
TheInfoPro’s chief research officer Bob Gill said, “User opinion
of blade servers has shifted from disappointment over unfulfilled
promises, to acceptance and understanding of just where blades fit
in the enterprise.
“As vendors have toned down the hype over blades, users are
increasingly viewing blades as simply another form factor with
unique advantages and disadvantages, rather than some radically new
server type.”
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