Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

On December 6, Sun Microsystems announced the first systems based on the newly announced Niagara CPU called the UltraSPARC T1, the first of Sun's new Chip Multithreading Technology (CMT) architecture products. The new systems — the Sun Fire CoolThreads T1000 and T2000 servers — deliver on the early promise of Sun's T1 technology, offering impressive performance compared to both legacy SPARC and current RISC and x86 servers. In addition to raw performance, the systems are extremely power efficient. Sun is attempting to capitalize on the systems' power attributes by introducing a new benchmark metric, SWaP (space, wattage, and performance), that focuses on the data center macro-environment. While we applaud the concept, users must carefully interpret the results to make sure that the metrics make sense in their environment. Taken as a whole, the new products embody one of the most disruptive technology shifts in the microprocessor arena in several decades and one that will strongly influence future design efforts across the industry.

Buy Risk-Free

Download and print PDF immediately. Price: US $199

Our Money-Back Guarantee: If you are not completely satisfied, return it for a full refund within three weeks of your online purchase.

Already a Forrester Client?
Log in to read this document.