A new and innovative computing platform has arrived – the ARM Server, often referred to as a «Microserver». This platform has some tremendous advantages over traditional rack-based Intel/AMD servers and has the potential to transform Cloud computing, Big Data processing, and the corporate data center.
Not familiar with microservers? Not many are. They’re also called ARM Servers or ARM-based Servers. I stumbled across them simply because I was looking for a differentiator in the delivery of Big Data and I’m in Austin, home to an innovator in this field – Calxeda.
By «microserver,» I am NOT referring to products like the HP ProLiant MicroServer or the HP Moonshoot chassis, which are a technology comb-overs (i.e., Intel-based PCs). They are not microservers at all. This kind of marketing confusion is regrettable – which is perhaps why «ARM Server» seems to be the predominant term for this computing platform.