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Web Servers Getting Naked, For Weight Savings

Posted by timothy on from the community-standards dept.

1sockchuck writes "Cloud computing is causing servers to get naked. HP today announced a 'skinless' server optimized for customers packing thousands of servers into cloud or HPC environments. This follow the lead of SGI/Rackable, which ditched the cover when it introduced bare bones servers for its CloudRack (previously discussed here). HP says the skinless design makes servers far lighter, which is apparently an issue when shipping them by the rackload."

37 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. Hottttt! by The_mad_linguist · · Score: 4, Funny

    Servers getting naked - IN YOUR EMAIL.

    Just sign up for our newsletter, and all of those from our affiliates, co-conspirators, third party hordes, and lawyers...

    Sure, you can find naked servers at google, but don't you prefer the personal touch?

    1. Re:Hottttt! by The+End+Of+Days · · Score: 5, Funny

      All I gotta say is if you don't know the difference between skinless and naked, you are NOT dating my sister.

  2. Wait... by gbarules2999 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Naked doesn't quite equal skinless, unless you're saying that you're naked of skin. Or...?

    1. Re:Wait... by Rog-Mahal · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, I'm thinking skinless porn appeals to quite a different subset of the public than naked porn. And yes, this did degenerate to porn already.

    2. Re:Wait... by QuantumG · · Score: 3, Funny

      Damn you Robbie Williams!

      --
      How we know is more important than what we know.
  3. Re:It's about time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    wanring: don't mentally image that -- he's the goatse guy :(

  4. Blade? by TopSpin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The new 'blade'; 19" wide and 1.75" tall.

    I see discrete Ethernet phys, VGA, USB, etc.; all the horrible stuff blades are supposed to consolidate away. Turns out all the proprietary silicon, software and exotic backplanes necessary to make that real costs too much and is creepy.

    And you can quit calling it "cloud" now... they're just hosting providers and you know it.

    --
    Lurking at the bottom of the gravity well, getting old
  5. Is the Airflow OK? by Philip_the_physicist · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This makes sense, since the dust should already be filtered, which removes a large part of the need for a case. However, I do wonder about the airflow, since an ordinary case helps to direct the airflow through the kit rather than over the top, which might be a problem. On the other hand, without a case, the ventilation will be much better, so what is lost on the swings may be gained on the roundabouts.

    This is a nice idea though, and would make sense for rackmount routers/switches, since these usually sit in an enclosed cupboard anyway.

    bTW: first?/p

    1. Re:Is the Airflow OK? by Yvan256 · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's for THE CLOUD COMPUTING, there's not going to be any airflow problems!

    2. Re:Is the Airflow OK? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Informative

      Given the fact that there don't seem to be any fans pictured in the chassis itself, and given that this is targeted at very large scale customers, I'd assume that the use case for these things is "inside a specially designed rack with power and cooling, with that specially designed rack completely full" which would allow the OEM to just validate against that case.

      If you just put one of these on a table, it'd probably overheat; but, if you want to do that, HP wants to sell you a pedestal server instead.

    3. Re:Is the Airflow OK? by SpudB0y · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Apparently you and everyone else who modded you up didn't read enough of TFA to see the second picture showing the fans.

    4. Re:Is the Airflow OK? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Interesting

      You might want to RTFA a little more closely: The fans in the second picture are embedded in a larger chassis, into which the module in the first picture is inserted. There are no fans in the server modules. There are fans, and power, provided by the larger enclosure into which they are inserted. I was wrong to speculate that it was full rack(the z6000 enclosure is only 2u, for reasons I can't quite fathom); but the thermal performance of the bare server does, indeed, depend quite closely on the enclosure into which it is inserted, just as I speculated.

    5. Re:Is the Airflow OK? by PhantomHarlock · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So essentially, the whole data center or the rack itself becomes the cooling case. I like it.

    6. Re:Is the Airflow OK? by karbonKid · · Score: 2, Insightful

      However, I do wonder about the airflow

      The floor of the case above forms the roof of the case below when mounted in a rack. Airflow problem solved. IIRC, Google was the first to implement this.

    7. Re:Is the Airflow OK? by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 3, Funny

      But there COULD be moisture problems....

      --
      My blog
  6. This is similar to an old school BBS trick by Optic7 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My friend used to run a BBS way back when, and he told me he would just hang the motherboards and other components on a pegboard on the wall. Similar idea, but I think he was doing it to save money on cases and possibly to save space as well.

    1. Re:This is similar to an old school BBS trick by James+Skarzinskas · · Score: 3, Funny

      A chum of mine swore by running his computer "naked" in a somewhat modified Walmart mini-fridge for some unconventional cooling. Well, until he spilled a 1L of pepsi on his motherboard.

  7. Big deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Company charges more for servers with less steel - film at eleven.

  8. This might be a good idea by selven · · Score: 4, Informative

    Makes the servers more serviceable, and in a server closet there isn't much that would require a skin to protect against.

  9. I've been thinking (and saying) this for a long by Datamonstar · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ... time. It's cooler, faster, lighter, cheaper and better for the environment and it looks a hell of a lot bad ass when you open up a system that's got it's guts exposed and just start hot-swappin' like a mofo. Sad thing is that it's driven by $$$$ and the need for companies to shave even a few pennies off their TCO when I've been doing it to my systems for years now for the above-state reasons.

    --
    The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.
    1. Re:I've been thinking (and saying) this for a long by imneverwrong · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...it looks a hell of a lot bad ass when you open up a system that's got it's guts exposed and just start hot-swappin' like a mofo

      A mechanic was removing a cylinder-head from the motor of a Harley motorcycle when he spotted a well-known cardiologist in his shop. The cardiologist was there waiting for the service manager to come take a look at his bike when the mechanic shouted across the garage "Hey Doc, want to take a look at this?"

      The cardiologist walked over to where the mechanic was working on the motorcycle. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and said, "So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take the valves out, repair any damage, and then put them back in, and when I finish, it works just like new. So how come I make $25,000 a year and you get $160,000 when you and I are doing basically the same work?"

      The cardiologist paused, smiled and leaned over, then whispered to the mechanic...

      "Try doing it with the engine running!"

    2. Re:I've been thinking (and saying) this for a long by adolf · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Right. But in cases when the heart needs stopped, there's a heart lung machine plumbed into place in order to take over for it. And if anything stops for any real length of time, the patient dies.

      It's like rebuilding a Harley motor, with no battery, without losing the radio[1] presets, and while maintaining a functional and running (if substitute) driveline the entire time, while ensuring that nothing ever stops because if it does, the bike will die. And then, all the kings horses and all the kings men, won't be able to put Harley together again.

      But that's simply too wordy for a punchline. Especially when the original was so concise and to the point.

      [1]: I don't know why Harleys are so often equipped with radios, but they are, so there.

      --
      Kid-proof tablet..
  10. Naked? by gmuslera · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I would say skinless instead. Probably for servers "naked" should mean without OS installed, what looks specially attractive since you can choose to install on them open clothes.

    1. Re:Naked? by bh_doc · · Score: 2, Funny

      I certainly prefer my clothes to be open.

      What?

  11. Nice rack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nice rack

  12. Re:As a conservative... by Neanderthal+Ninny · · Score: 4, Funny

    Steve Cobert, please go back to your desk and keep quiet on this.
    Nevertheless, this is the only naked thing in the world you will get close to.

  13. It would be awesome if... by egcagrac0 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They added a 12V only power supply and a 12V battery, integrating the UPS as well. All the 12V stepdown can happen on the mainboard!

    Totally OK if the battery is an optional replacement for the second hard drive.

    1. Re:It would be awesome if... by elronxenu · · Score: 2, Funny

      +1 Google.

    2. Re:It would be awesome if... by metallurge · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It has seemed to me for some time that there would be a market for somebody to manufacture a little VRM module that plugged into the ATX motherboard connector, and had two screw terminal inputs to hook up, say unregulated +12/24/48V as from say solar panels or batteries. A more deluxe model could also have auxiliary outputs for CDROM/HDD/FDD/VIDPWR connectors.

  14. Not really new by chuckymonkey · · Score: 3, Informative

    Origin 3000 series servers did this a long time ago. The bricks in the system were just fans on the front and a base plate to mount the hardware onto. They were pretty easy to work on in this configuration, you could pull the brick out and replace anything inside within a couple minutes. IRIX on the other hand.........

    --
    "Some books contain the machinery required to create and sustain universes."-Tycho
  15. marketing speak and buzz words grind the skin by johncandale · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Cloud computing is causing servers to..."

    What's with calling everything by near meaningless terns like 'cloud computing' all the time now?. The coverless servers are not due to 'cloud computing', they are just a different technic for server farms. It could be for databases, large analysis, supercomputing, regular network hosting, etc. There is nothing about this that makes it exclusively meant for 'cloud computing' , it's just an idea for large arrays. Unless you a a marketing tool stop saying cloud computing just because it's the hot new phrase. Save it for when it's relevant

  16. If it improves performance, why not? by Lord+Byron+II · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why does a computer have an external skin anyways? It's helpful for desktops to prevent damage from spills, but in the rack mounted environment, unless the skin increases cooling somehow, it's actually worse than useless.

  17. Obligatory futurama reference by DeadS0ul · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...You can see their bare circuits!

  18. Just like every other server by dilvish_the_damned · · Score: 2, Funny

    Except these are designed to arrive with the hoods "pre-lost", saving us the trouble.

    --
    I think you underestimate just how much I just dont care.
  19. Re:What about the RFI? by Kaboom13 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The special enclosure (that also supplies cooling) shields it to FCC standards I'm sure. It's not like one of the biggest computer hardware manufacturers doesn't know about FCC regulations.

  20. RTFA by adolf · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I see a few confused posts here about "WTF? Cooling?"

    Just RTFA, folks. It's a blade server arrangement, not a standalone computer. These "naked" computers are nothing more than a pair of dual-proc computers, in a 1U-ish chassis without a lid, which needs to slide into the appropriate rack-mounted housing in order to work. This housing includes all of the cooling and power supply goodness one would expect, and (of course) includes a top panel to promote useful airflow and limit RFI.

    I don't see much "new" about these things at all, since AFAICT most/all "blade servers" were already naked since their inception.

    Color me unimpressed.

    --
    Kid-proof tablet..
  21. Protection by TheLink · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If someone comes by to fix just one server on a live rack, it helps prevent stuff like screwdrivers etc from falling into the other servers. Or cables from tangling with the wrong stuff...

    Skinless is fine when you can treat each server/blade as a "card" in the "computer" (rack). Or you're running one of those massive sites that only changes stuff "by the rack". Then you just wheel out the entire rack and replace it with a new one :).

    It's not so good in "messier" and more heterogeneous server rooms - where someone might stack an el-cheapo 8 port gigabit switch on the server, instead of waiting for that new expensive rack-mount switch to arrive.

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