Sun to Give Niagara Servers to Reviewers

abdulzis writes "Sun Micro's Jonathan Schwartz says that Sun is giving away free servers to bloggers who do a good job reviewing their servers. From the blog article: 'if you write a blog that fairly assesses the machine's performance (positively or negatively), send us a pointer, we're likely to let you keep the machine'" Mr. Schwartz, if you're reading this, feel free to send us one with "Attn: CowboyNeal" on the label.

Comments

Re:Server vs PC

[ChrisGilliard]

So I get a server from Sun. Does that just mean I get a fast computer with a shitty audio and video card? Limited expansion slots?

Since this particular server is a Niagara Server, it has the Ultrasparc T1 chip. That's the big difference. This chip has 8 cores and each core can run 4 threads at the same time for a total of 32 threads of execution. So, IF you're running a web or application server, you will be able to support a LOT more users than a single core or even dual core processor for about the same price of a high end Wintel or Lintel box. Also, this chip uses a fraction of the power that a PC uses. Since servers are always on, this is a big deal for saving money in a data center. The total power consumption is about 70 watts. The Intel Chips use more than 100 watts. I don't know about expansion slots or video card actually, but if you care about that on this box, you're missing the point.

Re:Regular vs. Enterprise storage

[nacturation]

Before leaving the factory, the platters on every single enterprise class drive receive extensive testing. That is why SCSIs still have a 5 year warranty from Seagate, because every single drive has been tested and meets certain criteria.

In case you weren't aware, Seagate's SATA drives also come with 5 year replacement warranties.