Server: Features

Oracle's annual OpenWorld show is usually a showcase for its enterprise software. This year, however, it was all about hardware, as CEO Larry Ellison introduced a new family of database/storage products last week that it had been working on with partner Hewlett-Packard for three years.

Web farms, whether they are powered by open source Apache or Microsoft's IIS, often require serving up Web content so quickly that the CPU/chipset conservation models we tested as part of our "green" operating system assessment would be of no use.

There are certain popular system architectures that transcend the operating system and will turn your efforts to build a green network operating system brown, figuratively speaking.

Data centers are often designed (or overdesigned) to handle the highest load that might come their way, which really doesn't jibe with the green ideal.

We tested four servers, an IBM x3550, a Dell 1950, an HP DL160 and an HP DL360.

Taking a page from the doctors at Moses Taylor Hospital, IT staff at the US facility last year diagnosed their messaging system and came up with an effective treatment that's turned out to be a life saver.

Few reports have surfaced of security breaches in virtual-server environments, but the potential looms large.

As enterprises seek out ways to reduce IT costs, optimize resources and improve operational efficiencies, three technology trends have started to dominate: virtualization, service-oriented architecture and mobility. More promising yet is the intertwining of these unique technologies.

Rakesh Kumar, an analyst at Gartner. "There is an argument that users [of open source] gain access to a larger skill set than with other platforms," he says, referring to the notion that many eyes debug and look at open-source code.

On May 26, 2006, Elcot (Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu) let in its first penguin. Things would never be the same again.