Rackable Emphasizes Versatility in C2005 Server

Customizing high-density server orders for big clients has helped Rackable Systems, Inc. (RACK) win business from the largest players in the Internet game, including Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon. The company is now seeking to diversify beyond the Internet sector and win more enterprise business, and today is introducing a new server that will be a key tool in that quest.

Rackable's new C2005 server is designed for greater flexibility and configurability than the company's existing models. The C2005 couples Rackable's popular half-depth design and highly efficient power supplies with a large variety of Intel and AMD base board options, low-voltage processors and low-power hard drives (including Solid-State Disks).

The 2U server has a modular design that enables Rackable to offer a wide variety of local storage capabilities and the ability to support up to five expansion slots, an option likely to be attractive for enterprise configurations like database and application servers that require expansion cards such as RAID controllers, 10 Gigabit Ethernet NICs, InfiniBand HCAs or fibre-channel HBAs.

“The C2005 greatly increases the value of our build to order value proposition by delivering an unparalleled level of flexibility,” said Geoffrey Noer, vice president of product management at Rackable Systems. “Building on the success of our most popular 2U half-depth rack-mount server, the new C2005’s best-in-class configurability and attractive feature set make it an ideal solution for Internet, Enterprise and HPC customers.”

Storage is a key focus of the C2005, which allows customers to choose bwteen standard 3.5-inch drives or 2.5-inch Small Form Factor solid-state (SSD) drives. The  C2005 can be comnfigured for 2.5 models, 3.5 models or a mix of both. The server has two modular areas that can be customized. The management LCD can be swung forward, exposing a bay that can be populated with a single 3.5” hot-swap hard drive or pair of 2.5” hot-swap hard drives. The second modular area can accommodate a choice of:

By populating both modular areas with drives, customers can include up to five 3.5” or ten 2.5” hot-swap drives. The C2005 is immediately available for both conventional data centers and in Rackable's ICE Cube modular data center container.