Egenera upgrades top-end Linux servers

Egenera, a company making specialized high-end Linux servers for financial services companies, has upgraded its BladeFrame systems with Intel's latest Xeon processors, the company said Thursday. Intel released 2.6GHz and 2.8GHz Xeons that can be used in dual-processor servers at its Intel Developer Forum on Wednesday. Egenera's systems typically cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Egenera's servers include 20 thin "blades," electronics boards with two or four Xeon or Pentium III processors, that plug into a rack about 6 feet tall. Intel is working on future Xeon processors, including the "Gallatin" product for four-processor servers in coming months and the "Nocona" product for two-processor servers in 2003. Gallatin is built using a manufacturing process with features as small as 130 nanometers; Nocona will use the 90-nanometer process.