Intel unveils new microserver concept

Intel has unveiled a reference design as part of a new concept involving what it calls "microservers," earlier this week at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF). According to Sean Maloney of the Intel Architecture Group, the design is based on a new dual-core "ultra-low-voltage Intel Xeon 3000 series processor" with a TDP of just 30 watts. The chip should ship Q1 of 2010, while a 45-watt quad-core version is set to come out later this year.

To get an idea of how "micro" it is, Intel says that up to 16 modules of a microserver can be put into a standard 5U enclosure. Each of these smaller servers is envisioned to be relatively cheap and consume low amounts of power. 

While I do see the word "virtualization" and "cloud computing" being liberally mentioned by Intel, the less powerful microserver appears at first glance to run counter intuitive to the idea of using slightly more powerful machines to host multiple guest virtual machines.

On the other hand, this concept looks suspiciously like what we already have in terms of blade servers. Unlike blade servers though--assuming that Intel can pull off its microserver idea--we might soon be able to benefit from a blade-like server architecture without the proprietary interfaces that they currently face.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at eWeek
- check out this article at CNET News

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