Intel's server plans. Does it need HPQ, IBM and Dell anymore?

If only it did an operating system to boot.

Earlier this year we wrote about the Tiger chassis using Itanium processors that we saw at Computex, and which include "Bandera" innards.

Obviously, as reported here, Intel is no good at creating server farms. So why not do the next best thing and produce a server with software management stuff, Intel motherboards, a chassis and smart card Xscale technology, and of course Xeon chips, and let its white box partners, the resellers and distributors, just complete the task of competing with those nuisance companies HPQ, IBM and Dell [Err, aren't they Intel customers? Ed.] by supplying a huge server that's got just about everything Intel inside apart from the memory and the monitor ourside?

The latest IA-32 chassis designs seen by the INQUIRER at the usual place reveal that the company is still up to the same old tricks as always.

Shasta, which we're certain we've written about several years ago, is scheduled for introduction in August. This time round, Shasta (SRSH4 in real language), will support the four way Intel Xeon and Serverworks (nee Reliance, now Broadcom's) Grand Champion chipset all in a lovely little Cabrillo III 7U case.

Mr Hodges continues to use the Serverworks (BRCM) DP chipset, the GC-LE, and Hudson III - the 5U version, will contain the whole shooting match, probably around the end of this month.

Then we have Clearwater, better known to the bean counters as the SE7500CW2, a dual processor board using the E7500 Plumas chipset and Hudson III will be the base of the thing.

Woodruff is the codename for the rather less exciting S845WD1-E, which as the real name implies uses the 845 chipset. Even the case is boring. It's called SC5100.

In Q4 of this year, Bryson gets a refresh because of the 533 Plumas upgrade, and using the E7501 chipset. Clearwater will probably support that in Q4 2002 as well.

Expect to see a new chassis from La Intella in August. The D'Iberville II will also support four way Intel Xeons and use Serverworks (BRCM's) Grand Champ chipset.

Around this time we'll also see the Stayton-W chassis transform into the far more excitingly named SE7500WV2 (Westville) base for the mobo, using E8600.

And Coronado W will also be a chassis Intel will sell for Xeons, into which you system integrators out there can place the SE7500WV2, or Westville.

Westville will also support the new Xeon DPs and Plus 7501 come Q4.

What about Mr Chilito, Mademoiselle Pioneer Square, Hodges, Dodson, Bryson, Coos Bay and the rest?

Many of these are slated for the second half of next year and the first half of 2003, and demonstrate the depth of server platforms in white box fashion that Intel is selling.

Chilito II, for example, will support dual channel U320 SCSI, PCI-X 64/133, 600MHz Xscale Verde, BBU, HP PCI and NT/W2K clustering, and the board will also incorporate support for 64MB to 1GB DDR memory.

At the ROMB end of the market, in the first half of 2003, we'll see Palo Verde, or more unromantically, SRCMRX, a U320 ROMB card supporting PCI-X 64/33 and 600MHz Xscale. This will be how Intel merges its Xscale (StrongARM) products with its IA-32 answers.

You need software management tools to manage your server products, as Compaq used to know and as we presume HPQ now understands as it's in the selling Intel solutions business.

Therefore Kilchis I, which supports Hodges, Shasta, Westville and Bryson will need support for serial over LAN, a command line interface and such stuff.

Kilchis II, a way off yet, comes next year and promises a Web based software management suite and will support Westville 533 and Hodges 533.

We hope you understand all of the above.

Essentially, it means that Intel can make better servers as well as chips for the enterprise, can supply the cases, the motherboards and sometimes the chipsets.

In which case, why buy anyone else's servers using Intel server chips. Such as HPQ, IBM and Dell? Just use an Intel system integrator. You know it makes sense.

IBM can go back to making mainframes, HP can sell printers and ink, and Dell can sell desktop PCs and Inspirons. All will be well in the world, and it will be just about as "industry standard" as anyone could ever wish.

Maybe INTC can start making DRAM again, as well.

All it has to do now is produce the perfect operating system for the 21st century and we can all go away and write about nanotechnology instead... µ