Today’s server blades simply aren’t optimized for virtualization.

HP blades range from servers and

storage devices to workstations and virtual desktops. Many of HP’s most popular products that you may
be familiar with are now available in a blade design.

Each blade is inserted into the BladeSystem enclosure which provides redundancy, network connections
and a more efficient, shared power and cooling design. To help setup and maintain your blades, a variety
of tools are also built-in to help you at every step.

HP BladeSystem is ready for the applications you rely on today and for those you may add in the future.
BladeSystem supports two lines of HP servers blade: ProLiant and Integrity.

In most cases, any software application that is certified and supported by the operating system will run on
HP BladeSystem; however, exceptions can and do exist.

• ProLiant server blades support Microsoft® Windows®, Linux OS, NetWare and Solaris.

• Integrity server blades support HP-UX, HP OpenVMS,Microsoft Windows and Linux OS

Benefits of BladeSystem:

Cost-savvy: The consolidated design is more affordable to buy and efficient to own than conventional IT
Integrated redundancy from the start; fewer wires and other components save up to 40% less than rack-
mount infrastructures

Change-ready: HP Virtual Connect and a modular design lower barriers to change and speed growth
Add, replace and recover resources on the fly without rewiring

Energy-thrifty: HP Thermal Logic technology improves efficiency by managing power and cooling as a
resource
Use up to 30% less power and push less hot air into the data center

Time-smart: HP Insight Control manages an automated infrastructure to save valuable time

Increased administrator productivity, simple inventory, provisioning and recovery plus rapid patching and
repairing

For more information, please click here to visit the HP BladeSystem Website or continue reading this
white paper by paging down.

This white paper from Info~Tech Research Group is made available to IT Business Edge subscribers
by HP. It contains the independent opinions and conclusions of Info~Tech analysts, who wrote it with
no input from HP and with no intent to endorse the sponsor.
About this research note:
Selection Advice notes offer clear
Dueling Servers: Blades
guidance in effectively managing,
optimizing, and expediting the
and Racks Compete to
product and service procurement
process.
Cut Costs
Publish Date: October 18, 2007

Blade server costs continue to become more competitive when

compared with similar rack-mount servers. Do a head-to-head
comparison of both direct and indirect costs to see whether
moving to blades will meet the vendor marketing hype for direct
savings.

© 1998-2007 Info-Tech Research Group

www.infotech.com
Executive Summary
Doing head-to-head comparisons of blade and rack-mount servers is more difficult than it would initially
seem. Part of this complexity is found in the configuration options for both server systems and the
difficulty in finding truly comparable systems. This note, and its associated cost comparison calculator,
provides the tools to select equivalent systems and to perform a cost comparison. Items that must be
considered include:
» Selecting equivalent systems for comparison.
» Configuring matching hardware, including processors, RAM, storage, and networking capabilities.
» Evaluating indirect costs such as cabling, external infrastructure, and energy use.
By selecting the right systems for the comparison, IT staff can determine whether blade servers will save
the enterprise money.

Selection Advice 2
Dueling Servers: Blades and Racks Compete to Cut Costs
www.infotech.com
Selection Point
Many enterprises have already begun the migration to blade servers for their data center processing
needs. These systems offer physical space savings and reduced energy consumption (but with
increased concentrations of energy and heat). Vendors are claiming that blade server installations can
be less expensive than an equivalent rack-mount based data center. While vendor tools show dramatic
savings, they often fail to provide detailed information on the configurations and the systems being
compared.
Any realistic comparison of blade and rack-mount server installations must be completed based on
systems that have equivalent capabilities – both in the initial configurations and in expandability. Clearly,
this is not always completely possible given the more compressed form-factor of processor blades –
however, the real costs associated with any server selection must be based on equivalent equipment.
The associated ITA Premium download for this note, “Blade and Rack-Mount Server Cost Comparison
Calculator,” provides two sections for the compared servers. The first section in each tab defines
specifications for the enterprise requirements – number of servers, processor types, RAM, storage, and
Input/Output (I/O) ports. The second section prices the individual components. This includes the servers,
with any optional equipment. The blade server pricing includes chassis and associated management and
I/O modules. In addition, infrastructure costs are estimated for Ethernet and Fibre Channel (FC)
connectivity and cabling and some rough energy costs are calculated.

Key Selection Criteria

To do a proper head-to-head comparison, the form factors of the blade server and the rack-mount
systems should be as similar as possible. A 1U rack-mount server should be selected for comparison. In
most cases, a 1U rack-mount server will have more expansion capabilities than an equivalent processor
blade simply due to the physical compactness of the blade. However, it is possible to find very
reasonable comparisons.

Define the Server

Begin the process of selecting “like” systems by using both blade and rack-mount servers from the same
vendor. The theory is that much of the same technology will be integrated into both server types.
Processor blades are rarely designed for the lowest performance requirements, so they should generally
be compared to something other than the least expensive rack-mount server. If the least expensive rack-
mount server will meet the data center needs, then a blade system may not be the most cost effective
solution.

Selection Advice 3
Dueling Servers: Blades and Racks Compete to Cut Costs
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The base processing components of the servers need to be matched in performance, in capacity, and to
a certain extent, in expandability. The latter is not quite so obvious, but if a processor blade can support
32GB RAM (for example) and the 1U chassis can support only 16GB, then these systems are not quite
comparable. While the initial server requirements may be well met with a minimal configuration, that
selection may limit upgrades (of either rack or blade) for future expansion.
» Processor Choice – The server requirements begin with the processor. For a proper
comparison, this must be the same for the blades and the rack-mount systems. This includes
internal cache memory and bus speeds. In addition, the same number of sockets must be
supported on both servers.
» RAM – The amount of RAM used in the comparison should be the same for both systems.
Similarly, the maximum RAM supported should also be the same. However, in many cases the
rack-mount system may have a higher RAM limit.
» Ethernet Ports – Most blade and rack-mount servers come with support for two 1GB Ethernet
ports as standard. If additional Ethernet connections will be required, those should be included as
adapters on the individual server or blade. Note that some blade vendors have moved all of the
I/O ports from the processor blades and into I/O modules in the chassis.
» Fibre Channel Ports – Most servers do not come with FC ports included. These adapters on the
blades and in the rack-mount server will need to be included in the price if they are required.
Again, some processor blades provide generic connectivity to I/O modules that then provide the
FC interface.
» Storage – For virtualized and consolidation environments, Direct Attached Storage (DAS) is
generally not recommended. However, if DAS is required then the same amount and type must
be priced for both the blade and rack-mount servers. The disk controllers should be configured for
the same RAID capabilities for a correct comparison. Here the rack-mount server may support up
to six drives while most processor blades offer no more than four on-board.
Once these server parameters have been established, the comparable servers can be selected from one
or more vendors. In addition to detailed configuration information, the specific vendor and model number
for each comparison should be listed to make future references to this data easier. For a clear
assessment of server parameters, employ the server comparison template (see Table 1, below).
The data gathered and entered into the following three tables will also be used in the “Blade and Rack-
Mount Server Cost Comparison Calculator.”

Selection Advice 4
Dueling Servers: Blades and Racks Compete to Cut Costs
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 Table 1. Server Comparison Template
Source: Info-Tech Research Group

Processor Blade Rack-Mount Server

Vendor Vendor

Model Number Model Number

Processor Type Processor Type

RAM (GB) RAM (GB)

Standard Ethernet Ports Standard Ethernet Ports

Extra Ethernet Ports Extra Ethernet Ports

Fibre Channel Ports Fibre Channel Ports

Storage (GB) Storage (GB)

Selection Advice 5
Dueling Servers: Blades and Racks Compete to Cut Costs
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There are additional requirements for configuring the blade server chassis. Which I/O modules are to be
included is often the most critical choice. These modules provide the connectivity between the processor
blades and the external networking infrastructure. The selection will dictate the external cabling and port
requirements for the blade server. Selecting a pass-through module (for either Ethernet or FC) will
increase the cabling required and reduce the overall price advantage of the blade server option.
Optional items for both the blade chassis and the rack-servers will need to be considered. Blade servers
traditionally come with redundant power supplies and fans, but more can be added to support greater
loads. Not all rack-mount servers ship with these redundant components. For head-to-head comparisons
both servers need to have similar configurations in these areas as well. This will also be used to estimate
the energy costs for operating these systems. For a clear assessment of additional configuration
requirements and optional items, employ the additional requirements template (see Table 2, below).

Selection Advice 6
Dueling Servers: Blades and Racks Compete to Cut Costs
www.infotech.com
 Table 2. Additional Requirements Template
Source: Info-Tech Research Group

Blade Server Chassis Rack-Mount Server

Chassis Redundant Components (additional)

Redundant Components (additional) Power Supplies

Power Supplies Fans

Management Module I/O Adapters

Fans Ethernet

I/O Modules Fibre Channel

Ethernet Pass-Through

Ethernet Switch

Fibre Channel Pass-Through

Fibre Channel Switch

Selection Advice 7
Dueling Servers: Blades and Racks Compete to Cut Costs
www.infotech.com
If a different I/O module is required (e.g. InfiniBand), then that can replace either the Ethernet or FC
module for this exercise.

Fill In the Blanks

Once the server configurations and chassis requirements have been defined, the task of finding pricing
for these systems begins. All servers (both rack-mount and processor blades) are assumed to be
identically configured. This is not required, but simplifies the initial calculations. While there are locations
for optional items, such as Ethernet adapters, these can be incorporated directly into the complete
system pricing.
The Tier 1 vendors provide Web tools for configuring both the blade and rack-mount servers. These
should be used for the first pass on this worksheet. If additional information is required, the vendor sales
group can be contacted.
The rack-mount pricing is generally easier to determine since these are complete systems. Include any
redundant components and also note the total wattage of the power supplies. For the blade pricing, the
chassis with its I/O and management modules and any additional power supplies or fans are priced
separately from the processor blades.
Mark down the number of external ports offered by the I/O modules as these are used to determine the
cost of cabling. The total number of ports on each rack-mount server provides the cabling count for those
systems. For a clear assessment of pricing, employ the server pricing template (see Table 3, below).

Selection Advice 8
Dueling Servers: Blades and Racks Compete to Cut Costs
www.infotech.com
 Table 3. Server Pricing Template
Source: Info-Tech Research Group

Connectivity Expenses Estimated Energy Expenses

Cost per External Ethernet Port Server Power Supply Wattage

Ethernet Cable Cost per Cable Pull Cost per KW of Power

Cost per External FC Port Average Hours per Day of Use

FC Cable Cost per Cable Pull Energy Support Overhead

To more closely match the enterprise experience, some basic assumptions included in the worksheet
may be changed. These include the costs of Ethernet and FC ports (edge or data center switches), cost
of cable pulls, electricity costs, and energy overhead burden (cooling, lighting, and support infrastructure
usage). The energy costs are a gross estimate based on the total power consumption of either the rack-
mount server or the blade chassis. These do not account for power management features that are
becoming common in most server platforms. For a more complete discussion of power and cooling
issues, refer to the ITA Premium research note, “Greening the Data Center: Reduce Cooling
Requirements.”

What Is Missing?
The worksheet does not attempt to estimate any costs associated with physically modifying the data
center to concentrate cooling and power. These may not be required, depending on the number of
servers to be installed and the existing layout of the data center.
Some vendors incorporate other items in their calculations, including the number of racks required, as
well as power cables, in their estimates of the costs associated with blade and rack-mount servers.

Selection Advice 9
Dueling Servers: Blades and Racks Compete to Cut Costs
www.infotech.com
Because these costs only become substantial for very large numbers of servers, they have not been
included in this evaluation.
Configuration, management, on-going support, and software costs have also been ignored. These will
vary significantly by vendor, enterprise, application, and IT staff efficiency.
For this exercise the primary concern was to verify whether or not there is a cost advantage of blade
servers over rack-mount servers for measurable costs. The answer, for this exercise, is given in the final
tab of the worksheet.

Recommendations
The resulting cost comparison can provide an initial estimate of the relative expense of using either blade
or rack mount servers. This is only a part of the full equation.
1. Ensure that the compared servers are well matched. One of the primary problems Info-Tech
clients have reported is that the equivalent rack-mount server seems to be much less expensive
than the blade server. This often results from comparing the mid-range and high-end processor
blades to an entry level rack-mount server.
2. Consider the entry level rack-mount server as an option. If an entry level rack-server will
actually provide the capabilities required, then that may be the best solution. An alternative (not
discussed) would be to compare a smaller number of high-end processor blades against the
larger number of rack-mount units. This can be a viable option for virtualization and consolidation.
Since the processor blades do tend to be higher-end than many rack-mount servers, they may be
overkill for some data centers.
3. Cabling and infrastructure costs may be overstated. The worksheet assumes new cabling
and I/O ports will be needed. In environments where existing cables and ports are going to be
utilized, the estimated cost savings will be high. This can be adjusted by reducing the number of
ports for both the blade and rack-mount servers.
4. Try comparing products from different vendors. The server pricing and configurations vary
significantly by vendor. Initially, compare the rack-mount and blade servers from the same vendor
for a more accurate evaluation. These comparisons may show major pricing differences between
vendors and products within vendor lines.
5. Leverage volume purchases. If a large number of servers (more than a dozen or so) are going
to be purchased, contact the vendor directly to get their best pricing for the systems being
compared. Use those numbers as a final check between the blade and rack-mount servers.

Selection Advice 10
Dueling Servers: Blades and Racks Compete to Cut Costs
www.infotech.com
Bottom Line
Blade server costs continue to become more competitive when compared with comparable rack-mount
servers. Do a head-to-head comparison of both direct and indirect costs to see whether moving to blades
will meet the vendor marketing hype for direct savings.

Info-Tech provides IT research and advice to more than 21,000 IT professionals worldwide. Our practical, actionable research is specifically
designed to have a clear and direct impact on your organization.

Info-Tech's products and services help our clients work faster and more effectively. Our research improves the IT decision-making process,
expedites critical IT projects, and helps our clients keep current – enabling them to achieve greater personal and corporate success.

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Selection Advice 11
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