Sun Introduced Netra X4200 M2 server

By Chip Brookshaw

March 27, 2007 - Telecommunications customers need a unique combination of stability and horsepower--the IT equivalent of a tank that accelerates like a sports car. Sun has met those requirements for more than a decade with the industry's broadest line of carrier grade servers and blades.

Last year, Sun completely refreshed its telco line with new processors and added ATCA support. That momentum continues today with the announcement of the Sun Netra X4200 M2 server. The new server makes it even easier for telco customers to maintain standardization without sacrificing performance.

The 2U, 20-inch Sun Netra X4200 M2 server is Sun's first NEBS Level 3-certified rack server powered by AMD Opteron processors. It delivers several key advantages:

* Broadest OS support on the market
* Highest storage and memory capacity in its class
* Support for Sun's new 10 GbE Networking Technology

The Sun Netra X4200 M2 server is designed to power solutions such as media servers, voice over IP (VoIP) solutions, signaling gateway controllers, element management systems, network traffic analysis systems, operation management systems, and data management systems.

"Adding the Netra X4200 M2 server to the Netra server family extends the choice of platforms for our customers and partners," says Baljeet Grewal, Sun product line manager. "Companies can now have a single vendor for their UltraSPARC, x64, Solaris, Linux, and Windows based carrier-grade servers."
The new Sun Netra X4200 M2 server makes it even easier for telco customers to maintain standardization without sacrificing performance.
Scalability and Investment Protection

The Sun Netra X4200 M2 server supports Solaris 10, Red Hat, and SUSE Linux, and Windows operating systems--the broadest platform support in the industry. The server also offers scalability and investment protection with:

* Up to four 146GB SAS drives with RAID 0 and 1 support
* Up to two dual-core AMD Opteron processors
* Upgradeability to future quad-core AMD Opteron processors

The two-socket Sun Netra X4200 M2 server is available now, starting at $9,845. The one-socket version will be available in May, starting at $6,145.
Ready for 10 GbE

Last month Sun debuted its 10 GbE Networking Technology with the introduction of the Sun Multithreaded Networking Card, the first of its kind from a major vendor. The Sun Netra X4200 M2 server ships ready to support the networking card. Sun intends to make its leading 10GbE Networking Technology available across the Netra portfolio in the near future.

Sun's new networking technology brings high-performance multithreading to the entire stack, from the operating system to the processor to the network wire. With 10Gb/s bandwidth across the stack, businesses can provide services to customers faster and more efficiently, lowering overall costs.
New Customer and ISV Adoption

Customers are already experiencing how the Sun Netra X4200 M2 server can add high performance and platform flexibility to their solutions.

"Siemens Networks has been validating the Sun Netra X4200 M2 server in our laboratories for several months now," says Joachim Ungruh, senior vice president, VoIP Solutions, Siemens Networks. "While we are still in the platform verification phase, it has exceeded our performance expectations. The Sun Netra X4200 M2 will significantly enhance the competitiveness of our consumer and business VoIP solution offerings, continuing to reinforce Siemens' strategy to leverage the technology advancements of market-leading computing platforms."

A number of ISVs are developing applications for the Sun Netra X4200 M2 Server including, Adax, AppGate Network Security, Surf, and Appium.

The recently announced Sun Neta Data-Plane Software (NDPS) Suite is also gaining support from leading ISVs including Teja Technologies, SDC Labs, and Surf. NDPS enables the telco customers to reach breakthrough performance for data-plane functions on Netra CoolThreads servers such as Netra T2000 Server and Netra CP3060 UltraSPARC T1 ATCA Blade.
Designed for Demanding Environments

The Sun Netra X4200 M2 server expands Sun's selection of carrier grade servers and blades--the broadest line in the industry. As with other Netra servers, the Sun Netra X4200 M2 server is ruggedized making it ideal for the most demanding applications in the toughest environments.