Egenera Inc. wants to tear down the walls that segregate data centers guarded by proprietary Unix systems that are difficult to upgrade or change. The fix? An alternative to existing processing architectures based on Intel processors and the Linux operating system that will interoperate with existing storage area networks.

The Egenera Processing Area Network framework is based on a cluster of processors, input/output, and memory that the vendor calls a BladeFrame, says Vern Brownell, CEO at Egenera. Each of 24 blades contains two-way or four-way processing nodes, central controllers, redundant Fibre Channel switches, and an underlying Fibre Channel interconnect that ties everything together. The framework connects to AC power, the IP network, and the SANs via standard power cords, 10/100 or Gigabit Ethernet, and Fibre Channel; it can be upgraded by replacing the hot-swappable blades.

Egenera Processing Area Network is slated to ship Sept. 11. Pricing isn't yet available, but the company says it will be priced between the cost of an Intel-based LAN and a Unix cluster, or from $50,000 to $500,000 or more.

The BladeFrame is supposed to improve reliability, availability, and scalability. While conventional clusters require hundreds of connections, Egenera requires only six connections for the equivalent of 24 servers. Also, IT shops should be able to designate shared failover blades without any additional software instead of the dedicated failover servers and complex software programs typically required by high-availability clusters. Egenera also lets customers swap in processing power as needed.

John Broome, chief network officer at ServerVault Inc., a Dulles, Va., full-service hosting provider that's focused on security, likes Egenera's concept. "There's a need in this industry to make the most efficient use of space, failover, and balancing of information, and to scale very dynamically," he says.

Industry analyst Gordon Haff at the Aberdeen Group says that Egenera is on the right track. Server and storage infrastructure will ultimately exist solely for user requests, such as increased capacity and quicker access, and for services performed by the IT staff, Haff says, but that vision also is shared by HP and IBM. To succeed, Haff says, Egenera should partner with original equipment manufacturers rather than sell directly to customers.