IBM Corp has tapped Randolph, Massachusetts-based Network Engines Inc to provide the building blocks for new generations of rackmount NetFinity servers designed for ISPs and application service providers. IBM which is readying its own hosting program – see separate story – has already made plans to develop thin servers based upon its RS/6000 technologies codenamed Pizzazz.
NetFinity servers are Intel-based and the Network Engines design uses a 1U – one 1.75 inch form factor – designed for stacking multiple units in racks. The Network Engines’ WebEngine thin server runs Embedded Windows NT or Linux and uses one or two Pentiums. The Linux version is called X engine. The 1997 start up has raised $12.3m funding.
