Vendor Spotlight:

NEC LAUNCHES NEW FOUR-WAY FAULT TOLERANT SERVER

NEC Solutions (America), Inc., a premier provider of integrated solutions for the Connected Enterprise in North America, announced the availability of the NEC Express5800/340Hb, its new four-way high-end fault tolerant server. NEC's new high-availability server delivers up to 99.999% continuous uptime, featuring the highest level of availability in the IT industry from any major enterprise manufacturer.

Target Market

Designed for server consolidation, data center applications and server virtualization, the NEC Express5800/340Hb is the ultimate platform for running multiple applications from a single server with instantaneous fail-over, advanced monitoring and no single point of failure. The four logical CPU's support multiple operating systems and application stacks in a fully fault tolerant environment without sacrificing application performance. For example:

Server Consolidation - CIO's are constantly battling cost issues within their operating budgets. High on this list is the number of servers, many of which may be underutilized. Consolidation offers excellent opportunities to relieve pressure on the operating budget by addressing the costs of service, administration, and staffing. In the past consolidation on a single server represented a risk, but that risk is eliminated when the server has 99.999% uptime.

Large Data Center Applications - Some applications are so large that a dual processor server can not handle the load. With NEC's four-way offering there is now an answer for this Windows large application market.

Host for Virtual Server - With Microsoft's announcement of their Virtual Server app (VS) NEC can now offer a system that can run multiple operating system application stacks on a single hardware platform.

Industry Focus

By requiring only single copies of all standard applications to be installed on the system, the NEC Express5800/340Hb is ideally suited for virtual machine products and is a cost-saving alternative to linking conventional systems into an expensive clustering network. For example, pharmaceutical corporations can utilize high-availability functionality of the Express5800/340Hb to run uninterrupted molecular model tests for the development of new drugs, saving valuable time and resources. The Federal Bureau of Investigation can have constant access to criminal records, and the National Weather Service can constantly track weather patterns allowing for quicker response times to national disasters. Retail corporations and e-commerce sites can operate round-the-clock with 24/7 access to inventory and sales records, as well as offer 24/7 support for customers, sales staff and partners.

Larry Sheffield, senior vice president of the Solutions Platform Group for NEC Solutions America believes NEC is ahead of the competition by offering the highest levels of availability in the IT industry.

"NEC is providing customers with the industry's most reliable and secure platform for server virtualization and consolidation available today," said Sheffield. "NEC is the only major enterprise manufacturer to offer a four-way high-availability server delivering up to 99.999% continuous availability, averaging less than five minutes of unplanned downtime per year."

Key Features

The NEC Express5800/340Hb utilizes blade server architecture by separating processing/memory and I/O onto separate modules and features hot-swappable functionality. The highly expandable mid-range server features a 10U rack- optimized form factor that comes standard with 4 Xeon MP 2.8GHz, 2GB memory, 2 x 18GB HDD and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition.

Additional Features include:

• 99.999% uptime rating provides constant availability
• 4 Xeon MP 2.8GHz, 8 logical with Hyperthreading technology
• 2GB - 12GB max logical memory
• Fully hot swappable CPU and I/O modules
• Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
• Remote Management Software to maximize IT management efficiency

Delivered with dual redundancy, lockstep technology and 99.999% uptime, the NEC Express5800/340Hb eliminates single points of failure, prevents downtime, and lost data associated with traditional server architectures and cluster- based solutions. The server is designed to handle failed hardware components within the system and still remain fully operational without any loss of data or performance. This server is an ideal platform for running Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 software and is well suited for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, database and other applications that require greater configuration flexibility.

"Virtual machine software is becoming a popular solution to help organizations maximize their current technology investments, consolidate servers, and simplify management capabilities," said David Hamilton, director of the Windows and Enterprise Management Division at Microsoft Corp. "We are pleased that NEC is embracing Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 and providing customers with a high availability solution in their new Express5800/340Hb-R."

Pricing & Availability

The NEC Express5800/340Hb FT base unit comes standard with 4 Intel Xeon MP 2.8GHz, 2GB memory, 2 x 18GB HDD and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition. The base unit is shipping now with starting cost of $149,999.00.

About NEC Solutions America

NEC Solutions (America), Inc. is a premier provider of integrated solutions for the Connected Enterprise in North America. As an affiliate of NEC Corporation, NEC Solutions America taps into a global resource network to help clients leverage technology to achieve a competitive edge. From mobile enterprise computing systems, biometric security solutions, business intelligence, projector and plasma display solutions, business services management and IT professional services, the expertise is delivered with the personal attention needed to address individual situations. With headquarters in Rancho Cordova, California, NEC Solutions America maintains research, marketing, sales, and support facilities throughout the United States. Information regarding NEC Solutions America products and services can be found at http://www.necsam.com.