Is the blade server really not suitable for SMEs?

Typically, when IT staff installs a new server in the data center, they must connect a lot of things, such as a keyboard, mouse, monitor, power cord, one or more network connections, and perhaps a storage connection. Wouldn't it be better if there was a way to integrate them into a single server instead of connecting them to dozens to hundreds of servers one by one? The blade server can do this.

blade server is a "downsizing" modular server. The blade server consists of a blade chassis (which can hold 2 to 14 blades), the blade itself, and a management unit, network and storage connection shared by all the blades. Each blade is a stand-alone server equivalent to 1U (1 rack unit) rack server, can be configured with 1 to 4 CPUs (providing 2 to 48 cores), and supports up to 256GB of RAM. One or two hard disk slots, or the entire blade server can share a storage system with six or more hard disks. In addition, the entire blade server system requires only one keyboard, mouse, and video connection (or separate management connection); two power connections for redundant power supplies; and one network connection. Many blade chassis also provide Fibre Channel or InfiniBand connectivity for each blade.

Why choose a blade?


industry a kind of view that the blade server is only suitable for large enterprises, not suitable for small and medium enterprises. This is not necessarily the case. For any organization that uses more than three servers, a blade server may be a good choice. IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and many other server vendors have also launched blade server products tailored specifically for SMEs.

Blade servers not only greatly simplify cable configuration. It also makes management easier because it only requires one interface -- not seven or more separate interfaces -- that can manage all the blades. Moreover, blade servers are more dense, and often more devices can be compressed into space that traditional server configurations cannot fit, saving more space. In addition, they offer better reliability than a single server, with options such as redundant power supplies and high availability components.

Blade servers don't seem to be cheaper or even more expensive than racks or tower servers of the same size, but as long as the system is fully utilized, the blade server may be in the lifecycle. More money. You can buy some systems that are not full of blades and then purchase more blades when needed.

blade server system is suitable for a business, this enterprise has little to do with the type or size itself, but this depends more on enterprise IT needs. If your business buys only one or two servers a year, it's difficult to find a good reason to add a blade server; if you usually buy a cluster of 4 to 12 rack servers, it's worth it to buy a blade server. Because of the high cost of purchasing a blade system, the cost of managing the management is not obvious for companies that employ only one data center administrator, and blade servers are less necessary.

Buying a blade system doesn't have to cost $50,000 or more. You can choose a small 1U, two-node system for less than $2,000, and a blade chassis that can hold four blades for less than $5,000. The price of buying such a blade system is essentially the same as buying a single rack or tower server, except that you must carefully study the network and storage accessories to ensure that each blade has the capacity you need. In addition, the blade's processor and memory requirements are nothing special, and some blade systems can even support both Intel and AMD processors in the same chassis.

limited


blade is worth noting that, as compared with the rack or tower servers, blade servers, there are some limitations.

The first limitation is scalability: 1U rack servers may have two to three PCI-X or PCI-E slots, while blade servers may not have a slot (however, some Blade server systems provide high-performance Fibre Channel connectivity or 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to each blade or shared high-performance storage). If you need special hardware, the blade system may not be your first choice.

Another big problem is the power and cooling requirements. Since the blade system can accommodate more CPU, memory, and other components in a smaller space, they may generate more heat, may require more power, and naturally require higher heat dissipation. For example, some blade systems can plug 672 CPUs into a standard 7-foot rack, which requires 38,400 watts of power and produces more heat than a commercial-grade oven.

Since many blade systems are sold with a configuration that is not full of blades, you can purchase a system with a small number of blades and later purchase more blades as needed. But because the evolution of hardware standards is very fast, after a year and a half, you may find that the blades that were originally purchased have disappeared from the market. In addition, the blades between different vendors are basically incompatible, and even the blades of the old and new versions of the same manufacturer are difficult to be universal. This is a problem that users should consider carefully.