Intel gears up for Itanium launch
Intel Corp. will have its Itanium coming-out party on May 29, with a number of
vendors launching servers and workstations, according to various industry sources.
Intel's latest processor will be the company's first foray into 64-bit systems
and could help the vendor compete in the high-end server market dominated by
Sun Microsystems and IBM, according to industry analysts. The chip's
launch has been hindered by numerous delays; however, several hardware vendors
confirmed they will quickly follow Intel's announcement by releasing hardware
based on the chip.
Intel would not confirm the May 29 launch, saying only that myriad vendors
would bring out both servers and workstations in the next several weeks. During
that time frame, vendors would release Itanium boxes running Microsoft's
Windows 2000, Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX, IBM's AIX 5L, and Novell operating systems, said an Intel spokeswoman. In addition, a number of Itanium
systems running Linux will also be announced when the chip is launched, meeting
analysts' expectations that the open source OS would be one of the lead platforms
on the new processor.
Sources close to Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) confirmed that the company will
announce an Itanium workstation, running Linux, on the 29th. The company then
plans to follow shortly thereafter with servers using the Itanium chip and possibly
several flavors of Linux. The workstation appearing at the initial launch is
expected to run a version of Linux developed by TurboLinux.
Dell Computer has also said it will come to market with PowerEdge servers
and Precision workstations running on the Itanium chip. The Austin, Texas-based
vendor would not confirm a launch date or availability of the new products,
saying only that it will be one of the first to announce a product once Intel
gives the word.
IBM, Compaq Computer, and HP are also expected to launch a variety
of workstations and servers close to the announcement date.
Sun and IBM have led the 64-bit market, coupling their RISC chip technology
with highly stable OSs. This combination helped the vendors attract large corporate
customers, looking for powerful hardware.
While there has been much anticipation from the industry for Intel's high-powered
chip, many analysts expect that Intel's second generation 64-bit processor named
McKinley will be what Intel needs to compete for users on equal ground with
IBM and Sun in the high-end market.
Analysts look for early adopters to buy smaller systems running Itanium first,
putting the machines through trials and then move toward complete, higher-end
systems later on.
» posted by ITworld staff
IDG News Service
Symantec Backup Exec 12 and Backup Exec System Recovery 8 deliver industry leading Windows data protection and system recovery. Download this whitepaper to find out the top reasons to upgrade and how to get continuous data protection and complete system recovery.
Data and system loss — from a hard drive failure, malicious attack, natural disaster, or simple human error — can happen anytime. Don’t leave your business vulnerable. Make sure you have a secure recovery strategy in place. Symantec's latest backup and system recovery technology can efficiently restore critical applications, individual emails and documents and even restore your entire system in minutes in the event of a loss.
Businesses face a growing challenge to ensure that the IT environment is properly protected. Backup Exec 12 integrates with other applications in the Symantec family of products, to complement your current data protection strategy, keep your data securely backed up and make it recoverable when you need it most.
