Overview

If you’ve been involved in the technology industry for any duration, you probably associate the word scalability with growth when, in reality, the dictionary defines it to adjust to some rate or standard like your actual needs.

The problem is needs grow and shrink as projects start and end. Modular computing, typically combining blade servers and network storage, have multiple advantages:

• By separating the processing power from the storage, you can spend your money where you need it. Why waste money on a bigger server with extra CPUs when all you really need is more disk?
  


• Density is a good thing. Increased density means fewer racks. Fewer components are duplicated. The number of cables is reduced dramatically; in some cases, switches and power distribution units are fewer too. Fewer components help add up to fewer items that can fail or need repair, and modular scalability helps spread capital equipment costs over time. Many day-to-day expenses -- power and cooling requirements, assembly and installation hours, floor-space square-footage -- are designed to be lessened by blade architecture.
  


• Growth generally involves nothing more than sliding a new uni- or multiprocessor blade into an open bay in the chassis -- the system automatically loads a designated operating system and application image into the blade; the server is designed to get up and running with no human intervention.
  


• Repurposing can be performed solely by software control. Imagine the increased satisfaction levels and time saved when hot blades automatically jump in to help handle peak loads.

Modular computing combines a myriad of tools, including blade servers, network storage, load balancing, security and a host of other technologies to cost-effectively put the power where you need it, when you need it, for as long as you need it.