Since realTech was looking specifically at Windows products and the markets they can serve, the company didn't explore non-Windows options. It first considered Windows 2000 Server and Advanced Server, but those didn't offer the needed control functions, such as Job Object Control (the ability to control the available resources for a process), which was Datacenter's most important feature for the company.
Support for more memory was next on realTech's wish list. Large-scale programs, such as databases and SAP, especially benefit from large quantities of RAM. Reliability was also essential. RealTech will use four-node clustering, which will help the company evaluate high availability with Datacenter.
"We were very impressed with the joint support program, which lets the hardware vendor make sure that the customer is supplied with the solution to a problem and not just simply overwhelmed with more and more information," says Neil D. Morton, certified SAP technical consultant at realTech. The company says vendors will also benefit from the support program because they will be able to gather all the information regarding their hardware and the operating system.
Customers are definitely interested in the Datacenter program. Unisys reports that even during its beta program, it had more than 30 customers interested in the ES700 running Datacenter. After Datacenter became generally available, that demand jumped to about 200 units for the year.
A report by Boston-based Aberdeen Group Inc. suggested that Datacenter will initially be deployed by enterprises willing to accept the safe "vanilla" applications in exchange for the benefits of scalability, reliability and stability. However, the future of Datacenter will broaden once it establishes itself as an operating environment.
DeJesus is a freelance writer in Norwood, Mass. Contact him at dejesus@compuserve.com.
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Who's Marketing Windows 2000 Datacenter Server?
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