Xi3 Brings Style and Substance to the Data Center with FreeForm dataCENT3R Project
Xi3’s modular computers are intriguing to say the least, and now the company is expanding to the data center with a unique take on drive clusters in the FreeForm dataCENT3R. The structure features two vertical steel support posts with seven horizontal curved steel bars perched atop a metal base that has wheels. Attached to the horizontal bars are up to 96 Xi3 modular computers or microSERV3RS.
The whole schmeer measures about four to eight feet tall depending on how many drives are installed, and the structure is seven feet wide and two feet deep.
“For decades, I.T. Administrators and Professionals have been handcuffed into a paradigm that says Data Centers have to be built a certain way,” said Jason A. Sullivan, Xi3 founder, President and CEO in a press release. “That is no longer the case. With the birth of the Xi3 Computer Architecture and our small, energy efficient computers and servers, Data Centers no longer need to fit into traditional rooms and racks.”
Xi3 also says that the dataCENT3Rs are ambient air cooled, require less physical infrastructure, allow for reduced power consumption, and offer a movable and flexible solution that allows users to place the rack virtually anywhere in an office while allowing users to organize the drives in creative ways. They also support 64-bit, x86 operating systems including Windows 8 and most Linux and Unix OSes.
It’s hard to tell if the FreeForm dataCENT3R is a brilliant innovation or the answer to a problem that didn’t need solving, but in any case, that sure is a funky-looking cluster.
The whole schmeer measures about four to eight feet tall depending on how many drives are installed, and the structure is seven feet wide and two feet deep.
“For decades, I.T. Administrators and Professionals have been handcuffed into a paradigm that says Data Centers have to be built a certain way,” said Jason A. Sullivan, Xi3 founder, President and CEO in a press release. “That is no longer the case. With the birth of the Xi3 Computer Architecture and our small, energy efficient computers and servers, Data Centers no longer need to fit into traditional rooms and racks.”
Xi3 also says that the dataCENT3Rs are ambient air cooled, require less physical infrastructure, allow for reduced power consumption, and offer a movable and flexible solution that allows users to place the rack virtually anywhere in an office while allowing users to organize the drives in creative ways. They also support 64-bit, x86 operating systems including Windows 8 and most Linux and Unix OSes.
It’s hard to tell if the FreeForm dataCENT3R is a brilliant innovation or the answer to a problem that didn’t need solving, but in any case, that sure is a funky-looking cluster.
