Dell switches blades to serve up smaller offerings

Dell targets the 1655MC at data centers, where it will compete with offerings from HP and, erm, some other firm.

The server is less than five inches high and draws up to 20 per cent less power than Dell's current offerings. The server's blades sport two processor each. A spokeman for Dell told the Wall St Journal that the company was working on a design design using four processors per blade.

Compact blade server designs are expected to account for an increasing share of the server market. According to IDC estimates, the ultracompact designs will notch up sales worth some $3.5 billion in sales by 2006.

The 1655MC is expected to begin shipping today at prices from around $7,800 for a four-blade configuration. The machines will run either Windows 2000 or Linux. µ