IT Week staff

A new effort to create a level playing field for makers of blade servers is welcome but it is unlikely to have much enterprise sway in the near future.

Intel is part of a 40-strong group of server technology providers called the SSI who are backing a specification called Modular Server Specifications. SSI is attempting to provide a building-block approach for blade, chassis and manageability software elements. The only problem is that the big boys do not seem to want to play.

The list of supporters includes Pigeon Point Systems, Aragorn Computers and Mellanox Technologies. But there is no mention of current blade market leaders IBM, HP or Dell.

The roster is dominated by small companies with not much to lose. That is because, for all their talk of standardisation, the largest companies are still seeking to differentiate themselves on blades to protect margins.

There is currently no ability to plug standard blades from any vendor into a standard chassis developed by any vendor.

However, as more datacentres turn towards scale-out infrastructures where blades must be quickly snapped in and out, even the powerful brands of the industry leaders will become vulnerable to the Intel gang of no-names.

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