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First impressions of Xi3’s 'microserver in a box' populating a data center container
MP Divakar
3/29/2012 6:39 PM EDT
Conclusion
Xi3’s microserver seems to be ideal for LAN-SAN consolidation and colocation in the same RU by daisy-chaining one or more storage modules in the zero chassis. The drives can be powered either externally or with the USB 2.0 or 3.0 interconnect.
Xi3’s design approach of making a modular computer that is ideal for many vertical markets with easy customization afforded by the replaceable Southbridge design (for custom interconnects, defense, aerospace, ruggedizing, etc.) and extending it to servers with multicore capability appears to be very promising. Its multicore server in higher density datacenter applications may carve out a new market for micro datacenters in today’s world, where mega datacenters are the trend. With higher data rate interconnect capability and faster multicore processor offering featured in Xi3’s roadmap, it appears to be poised to participate in the mega datacenter market as well.
MP Divakar is a technologist in the Silicon Valley, specializing in semiconductor backend, packaging, thermal management and test. In addition to juggling two startups, he manages to contribute at IEEE Communication and Power Electronics societies. He is also a regular commentator on EE Times.
Xi3’s microserver seems to be ideal for LAN-SAN consolidation and colocation in the same RU by daisy-chaining one or more storage modules in the zero chassis. The drives can be powered either externally or with the USB 2.0 or 3.0 interconnect.
Figure 9. Addition of external storage using the zero module (bottom module, shown docking to Xi3’s modular computer).
Xi3’s design approach of making a modular computer that is ideal for many vertical markets with easy customization afforded by the replaceable Southbridge design (for custom interconnects, defense, aerospace, ruggedizing, etc.) and extending it to servers with multicore capability appears to be very promising. Its multicore server in higher density datacenter applications may carve out a new market for micro datacenters in today’s world, where mega datacenters are the trend. With higher data rate interconnect capability and faster multicore processor offering featured in Xi3’s roadmap, it appears to be poised to participate in the mega datacenter market as well.
MP Divakar is a technologist in the Silicon Valley, specializing in semiconductor backend, packaging, thermal management and test. In addition to juggling two startups, he manages to contribute at IEEE Communication and Power Electronics societies. He is also a regular commentator on EE Times.
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Neo1
3/30/2012 1:50 AM EDT
A good compact form but I see som potential issues of heat disspation when scaled. The either have to resort to chilled air circulation or alter the air movement across the chasis.
It would be interesting to know how much compute capacity in flops/sqmt this measures vs other offerings.
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CriKit Cloud
3/30/2012 7:53 AM EDT
This type of solution is very cool and a lot of engineering obviously went into it. Prospects should be concerned about lock in and system reuse however. I recently created a more COTS version that sits on a desk and sips 100 Watts per compute node http://www.crikit.info . We will be showing a 40Gbe version at CloudFair in Seattle in April. These types of compact, energy-efficient devices that run cloud software for on-premise and hybrid cloud configurations are the future of SMB and departmental computing. Very interesting times in computing. Moore's Law in action.
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docdivakar
4/3/2012 4:45 PM EDT
Thank you for that interesting bit of info on CriKit.
As a matter of curiosity, what would be the interconnect for 40Gb Ethernet? CXP?
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sharps_eng
3/31/2012 2:12 PM EDT
This does not seem very innovative except in style and marketing material. Launching a new design without the highest-speed next-generation interfaces makes it look like packaging exercise, as does the lack of tech specs in this press release.
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docdivakar
4/3/2012 4:35 PM EDT
There is no doubt quite a bit of engineering has gone into Xi3's boxes. I did press for more detailed specs but was told it would be available in the coming weeks. On its website, Xi3 provides the specs for the modular computer but not the microserver:
http://xi3.com/tech_specs.php
Xi3's demo was in AMD's booth... I do know the Xi3 Microserver uses a dual-core 64-bit AMD CPU
Incidentally, the "3" in Xi3 stands for the three-part motherboard!
MP Divakar
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