SoftBank Technology begins sales of high-performance, energy-efficient 1U servers

SoftBank Technology Corp. (President and CEO: Norikazu Ishikawa, headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, hereinafter referred to as SBT) announced that it has begun selling a high-performance, energy-efficient 1U rackmount server that uses Super Micro Computer, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: SMCI, hereinafter referred to as Super Micro) latest serverboard X9 series and Intel's latest server CPU, Sandy Bridge, from April 28, 2011.

The new model being sold not only reduces power consumption by up to 25% compared to previous models, but also improves performance.

SBT has been an authorized distributor of Super Micro since December 2010, and has now teamed up with Super Micro to sell six server models that support Intel's latest technology, in response to growing customer interest in energy-efficient servers.

Energy conservation awareness is currently on the rise throughout Japan, and businesses are being asked to take even greater energy-saving measures. This product will be sold to data centers and large corporations, who are particularly concerned about the power shortages this summer. SBT 's sales target for this series is 5,000 units per year.

■ Characteristics of the sales model

1. By using Intel's latest CPU Xeon E3-1200 series, power consumption is reduced while performance is improved.
   
   Reduced power consumption
   
   • A 50W reduction for the CPU alone (compared to the conventional Intel CPU Xeon X3430, see Table 1).
   • Optimal placement of the cooling fan reduces power consumption even under high load.
   • Depending on the configuration, power consumption can be reduced by up to 25%.
   • The latest high-efficiency power supply unit can be selected (*1).
   Performance Improvement
   Processing power has been improved by approximately 30% through increased performance in the maximum CPU operating frequency, number of threads, and bus speed.
   
   As a result of the above, the processing power per unit power consumption (Watt) is 1.3 to 1.8 times that of conventional models. (*2)
2. We offer multiple models in a 1U-sized chassis, allowing you to choose the number of hard disks that can be installed, power capacity, power supply redundancy, etc. This makes it possible to provide a configuration that is optimized to your needs. You can select the CPU model that suits your purpose.
3. All models come standard with a server management IPMI (*3) module
   Support for the industry standard IPMI makes it easier to systematize server operations.
4. Recommended Applications
   
   • Web Server
   • Mail server

Table 1: Comparison of INTEL server CPUs (single CPU models)

Exhibitor: Our company

• (*1) High-efficiency power supply unit
  ・The 400W redundant power supply model (SYS5017C-MTRF) allows you to select the latest power supply unit.
  ・Features of the latest unit PSW-406P-1R
  - Compliant with the US Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star 2.0
  ・80PLUSR GOLD (conversion efficiency 93%+) certified
  - Equipped with PMBus 1.2 and SMBAlert functions for power supply unit monitoring and fan control
• (*2) From Principled Technologies
  
• (*3) IPMI: Intelligent Platform Management Interface

■ Company Overview

• *Company names, product names, and service names mentioned in this release are trademarks or registered trademarks of our company or each company or organization.