IBM packages Linux clusters for e-commerce

by Stephen Lawson

November 13, 2001 —

IBM Corp. on Tuesday introduced a package for what some enterprises have been building on their own: clusters of Linux servers.

The IBM eServer Cluster 1300 is designed to save companies the trouble of integrating and configuring the hardware and software pieces needed to build a Linux cluster. Because it is offered with software capabilities such as transaction processing, it may extend the use of Linux clusters beyond vertical industries such as life sciences and oil exploration into sectors such as e-commerce, financial services and even small and medium-sized businesses, analysts said.

The package combines IBM eServer x330 or x342 Intel-based servers, running Red Hat Linux 7.1, with cluster and file system management software derived from IBM SP supercomputers, according to a company statement. The Linux clusters can be configured with as few as four servers or as many as 1,024, allowing large institutions and corporations to build supercomputer-like clusters for number-crunching or e-commerce applications.

IBM has tested and certified several applications and clustering tools for use with the package. They include high-availability software from third parties, including Mission Critical Linux Inc., SteelEye Technology Inc. and Polyserve Inc., as well as IBM's WebSphere e-commerce software and DB2 database, and the Transaction Session Manager from Warp Solutions Inc. IBM also can provide installation and maintenance services.

Financial services, e-commerce and Web content hosting are among the applications for which the Linux clusters may be put to work, said Stacey Quandt, an analyst at Giga Information Group Inc., in Santa Clara, California.

Many corporations and institutions have embraced Linux for large-scale computing because of the cost advantage of using the open-source operating system, Quandt said. However, simply finding a driver for an Ethernet interface, let alone building a complex server cluster, can be challenging with the open-source operating system.

"What this is addressing is to make it easier to implement the server," Quandt said. Previously, "you could buy a solution from IBM, but it was not as packaged as this," she said.

Some specialized applications still will require more implementation work, she added.

"This will not solve every problem, but it does address a part of the market that is looking for a bundled offering," she said.

Small and medium-sized companies are likely to be the primary adopters of this Linux cluster offering, said International Data Corp. analyst Dan Kusnetzky, in Framingham, Massachusetts. They have been slower to adopt Linux because many are used to buying packaged systems from local resellers and system integrators, he said.

A system that has been configured and tested by IBM could make life easier for both resellers and their customers, and increase their confidence in adopting a Linux cluster, Kusnetzky said. With the e-commerce and database software that can be included in the clusters, small and medium-sized merchants may have an easier time expanding their business to include online sales.

In large companies, IBM may be able to help the IS department run Linux more efficiently, Kusnetzky said. In many companies, Linux implementations are scattered around the organization and the chief information officer (CIO) isn't even aware they exist. Centralizing Linux functions in a system set up by IBM could save them money on maintenance costs, he said.

The eServer x330, used for compute processing in the clusters, can be configured with two Intel Corp. Pentium III processors, 4G bytes of RAM and 72G bytes of internal storage. The x342, used for central management and storage nodes, uses Pentium III 1.25GHz processors and can be fitted with 4G bytes of RAM and up to 440.4G bytes of internal storage.

The clusters will be available in the U.S. starting Nov. 26. An eight-node IBM eServer Cluster 1300, including 8 cluster servers, one management server, operating system, switching and custom factory integration, will cost US$85,000.

IBM, in Armonk, New York, can be reached at +1-914-765-1900 or via the Web at http://www.ibm.com.

IDG News Service