Big Blue Set To Ship AMD-Based Blade Servers

IBM is on track to launch its first blade servers based on Advanced Micro Devices' Opteron dual-core processors by June, CRN has learned.

The move should solidify the vendor's already substantial lead in the blade server market, solution providers said.
IBM showed off an AMD-based blade at its PartnerWorld show in early March, but the company has not confirmed it will actually ship the products. An IBM spokesman said IBM is still "investigating customer demand" for an AMD-based blade for its BladeCenter.

But solution providers familiar with the company's plans said IBM will have the blades ready to ship by June, a release that will only bolster Big Blue's current Intel-based blade server line.

"IBM is trying to differentiate itself in the blade market by offering more choices," said an IBM VAR in Florida.
Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM's plans spell more bad news for Sun Microsystems, which also plans to unveil a new line of AMD Opteron-based blades in the summer, sources close to the company told CRN.

Sun is planning to introduce its new line of blades around the same time it introduces its next-generation AMD Opteron-based Galaxy server line this summer, sources said. A Sun spokesman would neither confirm nor deny the plans.