Rackable Systems says good-bye to 'costly virtualization' and introduces us to what it calls 'physicalization', a revolutionary, hardware-based approach to virtualization which further improves the total cost of ownership.  The company just announced the immediate availability of a broad portfolio of servers based on its new MicroSlice architecture, which it says eliminates the need for costly virtualization software and sets a new standard for price-performance-per-watt.

The MicroSlice architecture supports up to 264 servers per cabinet while drawing as few as 72 watts per server.

“Rethinking the whole approach to an existing market is at times the best way to achieve the magic blend of reducing costs and improving performance,” said Mark Peters, senior analyst with the Enterprise Strategy Group. “Rackable Systems’ innovative mindset has achieved just that with its new building-block server architecture – delivering a package that is perfectly targeted for any users seeking to ‘do more for less’ in the current tight economic conditions.”

MicroSlice establishes dramatic new server price points, with many configurations starting at sub-$500, while delivering the performance and server-class features required by cloud computing and Web-based environments. This 80 percent per-server cost reduction yields a 51 percent improvement in price/performance—a welcomed relief for many IT departments struggling to scale their infrastructures despite reduced CapEx and OpEx budgets.

“The new MicroSlice architecture is radical; we eliminated the need for virtualization software and set new density standards with 264 servers per cabinet,” said Mark Barrenechea, president and CEO of Rackable Systems. “Our MicroSlice-enabled products are timely in this economic climate, allowing data center budgets to go twice as far.”

Four new MicroSlice-based servers are available in CloudRack™ tray and half-depth server configurations. Leveraging the latest, high-density AMD board designs, these new servers support AMD’s Dual-Core Athlon™ and Tri or Quad-Core Phenom™ processors. All of these products are supported by Rackable’s Roamer advanced server management module and benefit from ultra-high efficiency power supplies.

For more information about Rackable’s MicroSlice architecture, please visit http://www.rackable.com/microslice.