Blade guys have their say about energy efficiency

Mainframes had their say earlier this week. Now, naturally, much of the hype coming this week out of the Next Generation Data Center conference swirls around keeping cool.

Blade.org (a collection of blade technology vendors) intends to put a more practical spin on the topic with a seminar series this fall proselytizing the energy-efficiency benefits of a blade architecture for your data center. (Notably absent from the Blade.org member list, by the way, is Hewlett-Packard although many of the individual members support its blade technology with their own products.)

Click here if you’re interested in checking out the topics or registering for one of the sessions.

The group is also touting some new products from member companies it believes are more environmentally sensitive than the norm. They include the NE020BCH10 Gigabit Ethernet Mezzanine Card from NetEffect; new ConnectX IB and EN Dual-Port 10 and 20GB/s Infiniband and 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter cards from Mellanox; and the new rack-based Powerware BladeUPS from Eaton.

And, miracle of miracles, here's an actual case study of what APC and IBM did at Bryant University to save money AND help the school be more energy-conscious. Nice to see more than just marketing.