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December 09, 2002 (Computerworld) -- ... approach today for many large applications that need powerful multiprocessor servers, which is why most eight-way-ready systems using Intel's Xeon microprocessors come equipped with only four chips. The apps on the server can't use the extra processors. It's also why users might cast a skeptical eye on recent market-share numbers from IDC showing IBM routing the competition in the eight-way server market. "I'd wager 97% of those units are four-ways," says Tim Golden, director for high-end Intel systems at Hewlett-Packard Co., which got trounced in the latest quarter's IDC number crunching. Deepak Advani, IBM's vice president in charge of the company's high-performance Intel servers, dismisses Golden's bet, but he suggests that users of IBM's x440 eight-way systems "are buying for scalability" when they equip them with only four Xeon chips. Sure. Intel's 32-bit Xeon remains the bottleneck for most demanding applications, because it can address only 4GB of memory, and Windows 2000 consumes about half of it. Golden says that until HP, IBM and others start shipping 64-bit Itanium-based systems next year, that problem won't disappear.

Server-blade users wondering where to pack all the data processed by those compact, rack-mounted servers will be interested in this week's release of StorBlade by JMR Electronics Inc. in Chatsworth, Calif. The storage device tucks underneath a server blade, and each one can pack away 2GB to 584GB of data. And you can daisy-chain 32 StorBlades in a single rack for more than a few terabytes of storage in either RAID or JBOD configurations. Prices start at $1,498.

Web services success stories keep coming this way. The latest is at the National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit operation in Herndon, Va. The Clearinghouse, as it's known, supplies data to a variety of businesses, including enterprises that need to verify whether, say, a football coach really did earn that MBA or if that hotshot programmer indeed graduated from MIT. Currently, the Clearinghouse has about 1,500 customers that need to be signed up and qualified one by one. The new Web services application promises to open the market to the "6 million businesses operating in the U.S.," according to Mark Jones, marketing VP. CIO Doug Falk claims the potential boon took only a Java consultant and one other staff member six weeks to complete the project.

The Clearinghouse uses SOAP services via Flamenco Networks Inc., an ASP in Alpharetta, Ga., that manages and secures connections between outsiders' requests and the stored student data. Flamenco loads proxies on client systems and controls their interaction via a central management console in its data center. Next month, Flamenco plans to release a licensed version of its management console, as well as a few new graphical reports so users can own the software and get a prettier view of who's using what, where and when.

Can you hear me now? In your ongoing effort to cut costs, consider VOIP technology from tiny start-up TransPacificTelecom Inc. in San Diego. COO Diane Brandis claims her company in the first quarter of 2003 will be offering phone service for as low as 1.9 cents per minute. At that rate, it would almost be cheaper to call this newspaper and have it read to you than to subscribe. She says all you'll need is a $30 VOIP phone plugged into your PC's USB port, and your staff can yak away for almost nothing. Of course, she doesn't know what it will do to your network's IP traffic.

On a related cost-saving note, Telex Communications Inc. in Burnsville, Minn., will start shipping its Nexus Platinum conference phone in January. At $799, it's cheap compared with the $1,299 unit from market leader Polycom Inc. in Milpitas, Calif. What's more, the company sees a VOIP version in the near future.

Today's Deals Systinet Corp. has released its WASP 4.5 development environment, which will bridge the gap for complex data types between Java and .Net Web services apps, among other improvements. Internet Tax Group Inc. and Recruitsoft Inc. announced a partnership to automate HR applications for government tax credits for new hires.

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