With the focus on consolidation becoming stronger than ever, SMEs and small corporates are finding the mass-market availability of dual-processor-based servers a much-needed helping hand when purchasing back-end infrastructure that provides the required performance, with a replacement cycle of at least three to four years.
"The reason for this is simple," says Greg Pothitos, HP ISS product manager at Tarsus Technologies. "Purchasing a dual-processor capable server today enables companies to simply add a second-processor when additional capacity is required."
Dual-processing servers are not exactly a new concept or technology. Pothitos says, what may be new is that fact that dual-processing is now also available in smaller servers such as HP`s ML350 and ML330 servers. "As dual-processing servers are now available to companies of all sizes at a competitive price, customers not only have an easier path in terms of their technology infrastructures, but can also increase the useful life of their servers," he says.
"By taking advantage of dual-processor capable servers, customers can ensure they only upgrade when there is a need and do not have to replace their server infrastructure, as was the case a couple of years ago," Pothitos elaborates.
Customers must, however, be careful of the terminology in the market when making their server purchasing decisions, Pothitos cautions. "At the moment, there`s a fair amount of talk regarding dual-core processors," he says, "a term that is not to be confused with dual-processors."
"Essentially the two concepts differ in that dual-processing means two separate processors in a single server, whereas dual-core means two processing cores resident on a single processor. Dual-core processors are currently only available with AMD, a technology that HP is putting a huge focus on."
Pothitos offers another word of caution, however. "Customers should also bear in mind that dual-processing doesn`t offer a doubling of performance. Since the two processors in a server are still required to use the same set of resources, performance is greatly improved over a single processor environment, but not doubled.
"The main benefit is that the dual-processing capability of most of today`s servers gives the market an easy, trouble-free and cost-effective manner in which to increase their server performance, without having to purchase a completely new server and go through the migration pains associated with moving applications, configurations and information from one server to another," he concludes.
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Tarsus Technologies is rated by suppliers and channel partners as SA`s leading hardware distributor for its stability, service ethos, product knowledge, excellent support, competitive pricing strategies and channel focus.
Distributing a wide range of products from the world`s leading manufacturers, including Acer, APC, HP, IBM, OKI, Samsung and Tally, and supplementing this range with its own brand - the Tarsus PC - Tarsus focuses strongly on long-lasting partnerships with its suppliers and resellers. In line with this philosophy, Tarsus provides a comprehensive range of services to its resellers that enables them to add value to their own offering, and assists them in growing their business.
It is this service offering that has afforded Tarsus a number of channel accolades. The latest include: Channel Executive Awards - 2002; Best Distributor Overall - 2002; Compaq`s "BDG Distributor of the Year" award - 2001 and CRN Outlook Awards - 2002.
More information about Tarsus is available at http://www.tarsus.co.za.
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