IBM and Sun focus on low-end Unix

Windows and Linux are becoming an option, says Gartner

Sun Microsystems and IBM have shifted their Unix server battle to low-end systems.

IBM has introduced the p610 server as the new entry model to its pSeries range. The p610, formerly codenamed Colt, uses one or two 450MHz Power3 processors in a rack-mounted or standalone configuration, running AIX 5L, IBM's version of Unix. Linux application support is due next year.

The system supports up to 291Gb of internal storage and 8Gb memory. P610 prices start at £6,524 for a single processor system.

Sun's new server is the V880, formerly codenamed Daktari. V880 is available in three versions, with two, four or eight UltraSparc 3 processors running the Solaris 8 Unix operating system. It houses up to 12 36.4Gb hard disks and 32Gb of memory in the eight-processor version, also in a rack-mounted or free-standing set-up.

V880 server prices start from £26,100, and cost up to £104,700 for a fully-configured system.

Low-end Unix servers are of most interest to companies with larger Unix systems which want to standardise on a single version of the operating system across their IT infrastructure, according to Andy Butler, research group director at analyst Gartner.

"Where users want to deploy low-end Unix systems, IBM and Sun have an offering. But Unix vendors' attitude to low-end systems is becoming increasingly opportunistic as users look to Intel-based systems running Windows or Linux," he said.

Sun is the market leader in low-end Unix servers, with 41 per cent of sales during the second quarter of this year, although IBM's share has increased from 10 to 15 per cent since the same period last year, says researcher IDC.

However, high-end Unix systems are more profitable, says Butler. Last month, IBM and Sun announced their new top-of-the-range servers within a week of each other.