Fujitsu sets high-end Linux plans

Computerworld - Fujitsu Ltd., which in the server market is known primarily for its high-end Unix systems based on Sun Microsystems Inc.'s SPARC architecture, last week announced plans to use Intel Corp.'s processors to develop a new family of enterprise-class Linux machines.

Tokyo-based Fujitsu said it hopes to start shipping dual-processor Linux systems in the second half of next year. The company added that the Linux line will be topped off by a 128-CPU server based on Intel's 64-bit Itanium 2 processor. That's the largest Intel-based commercial Linux system announced thus far, but it isn't slated to ship until 2005.

Fujitsu's planned move into the Linux business is a welcome one, said Joe Beery, CIO at America West Airlines Inc. in Phoenix. "We had hoped that Fujitsu would do something like this," he said.

America West uses two of Fujitsu's 64-processor servers running Sun's Solaris operating system to power a variety of applications, including its core revenue management system. But, Beery said, "we are very interested in more cost-effective solutions."

The airline has already set some initial plans for using Linux, he added. For example, America West plans to switch its corporate portal Web site from Windows NT to Linux next month. As the open-source operating system becomes more reliable and the application development tools that support it mature, the company will likely migrate some of its more business-critical applications over from Solaris, Beery said.

Fujitsu's move is a sign of the growing interest in Linux within corporate IT departments, said Charles King, an analyst at The Sageza Group Inc. in Mountain View, Calif. "This is a resounding pat on the back for Linux," he said.

Linux Push

Fujitsu joins a list of server vendors, including IBM and Hewlett-Packard Co., that are aggressively pushing Linux for use in enterprise applications. "If you take a look at some of these announcements, the claims of some vendors that Linux is not ready for the enterprise qualifies as whistling past the graveyard," King said.

Jack Hirano, a deputy general manager at Fujitsu in New York, said the company also plans to use Intel's Xeon processors in its Linux servers. He added that Fujitsu, which makes its own SPARC chips, will continue to develop new Unix systems. But the Linux machines will broaden the company's enterprise server portfolio, according to Hirano. "We see a strong opportunity in the Linux marketplace, and we're confident that we can capitalize on it," he said.

Hirano said Fujitsu plans to deliver the same reliability, availability and scalability features on the Linux boxes that it does for its Unix servers. To that end, the company has created a 300-employee Linux systems group that will focus on porting its interconnect, clustering, systems management and grid-computing technologies to Linux.