Can AdvancedTCA Blades Compete with Commercial Blade Servers?

Can AdvancedTCA Blades Compete with Commercial Blade Servers?
by Alan Percy, AudioCodes

IT managers and telecommunication solutions architects have recognized the advantages of blade form-factor servers. They are smaller, lower power, more flexible, more modular, and cheaper than traditional form factors. As a result, many vendors now produce their own blade servers. Unfortunately, they have created proprietary and often incompatible form factors that have caused buyer confusion and vendor lock-in. Meanwhile, the AdvancedTCA (ATCA) architecture, as defined by the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG), has finally moved from the drawing board to real products with strong interest by leading telecommunication equipment manufacturers. Will AdvancedTCA be confined to telecom applications or will it impact the blade server market by invading the data center?

Issues with AdvancedTCA
AdvancedTCA equipment uses more rugged components and is mechanically more complex than commercial blade servers. Hence it costs more. After all, AdvancedTCA is intended to meet the harsh environmental requirements and long lifecycles typically specified by telecom service providers. They demand high availability, even when equipment is located remotely and is difficult to service. Data centers have relatively comfortable environments and expect to change out equipment every few years. They often prefer to simply maintain hot spares rather than pay the extra price for high-availability equipment. The result so far is that AdvancedTCA is finding places in telecom networks, but low-cost servers own the data center. Why pay for long life and durability when servers will be obsolete within just a few years anyway?

The Growing AdvancedTCA Community
Recently several server vendors have begun offering alternative lines of industry-standard AdvancedTCA processor blades, chassis, management modules, and accessories. These new AdvancedTCA blades are typically much more expensive than standard servers, but offer several valuable advantages, including:

High maintainability via hot-swapping and intelligent shelf management
Ability to handle the latest processors
A wide range of interfaces and peripherals
COTS ecosystem with a wide variety of suppliers and products
High throughput
Remote management
Industrial-class chassis capable of withstanding a wide variety of environmental challenges including vibration, power, heat, and humidity extremes.

Further refinements to make AdvancedTCA compatible with typical data center working environments would broaden the market, increase volumes, and lower costs.

Pulling the Plug on Blade Servers?
Obviously, AdvancedTCA blades will not replace all blade servers. Low-cost servers will remain the logical choice in many situations. But in cases where data centers want expandability, a standard form factor, hot-swapping, remote management, advanced shelf management capabilities, high availability, and the resources of an extensive ecosystem, AdvancedTCA blades fit the bill. Standard platforms will also allow data centers freedom in selecting vendors, adding special-purpose functions, introducing the latest interfaces and peripherals, and meeting local needs. Data center managers should note that the costs of operating servers today far outweigh the initial purchase prices. AdvancedTCA blades may well provide a lower total cost of ownership despite higher initial prices.

Alan Percy is Director of Business Development at AudioCodes. You can reach him at alan.percy@audiocodes.com.