Unisys Serves Up Pre-Configured Database Bundles
Unisys offers hardware, software, and storage packaged into three different bundles.
Unisys Corp. yesterday introduced several pre-configured database bundles that it says will enable customers to rapidly deploy and support large database environments.
The new systems, which run Microsoft's Windows 2000 Datacenter Server and are hosted on Unisys' Intel-based ES7000 servers, are also outfitted with SQL Server 2000 and matched with storage capacity from EMC Corp. Unisys' database bundles are available in 8-, 16- and 32-way processor configurations. Microsoft offers its Windows 2000 Datacenter Server for use in systems outfitted with more than eight processors.
"It's a complete packaged system that includes the OS, SQL Server database software, all of the hardware that you need, storage, backup hardware and software [from Veritas], as well as services," explains Tom Manter, director for Unisys' database server program. "Basically, we have bundled three different sizes and we have identified workloads for each of these sized packages, and the customer merely identifies which workload is necessary for their particular operation and chooses that configuration."
Manter says that the new database bundles can support workloads of 7,000 to 27,000 users, as well as between 1TB to 9TB of storage. The goal, he indicates, is to provide customers with a complete database solution that can literally be rolled into place to support an existing workload.
To that end, Manter says, Unisys is providing customers with a free workload-sizing tool (www.unisys.com/datacenter/sizing) to help assess which of its three packaged database solutions is the best overall fit for IT's needs. "If for some reason a particular business has a different need than what we packaged, they can use this tool to input the workload requirement and come out with an optimized configuration. They can even play games with this optimizer tool to project growth over the next year."
Customers can also purchase additional capacity to augment Unisys' packaged offerings, Manter explains. For example, an IT organization that uses the workload-sizing tool and determines that it will require 12 processors to support its anticipated workload can purchase an eight-way bundle from Unisys, and pay for four additional Intel Xeon MP chips.
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Stephen Swoyer is a Nashville, TN-based freelance journalist who writes about technology.