Other manufacturers are expected to follow in the coming months. Weighing about 2 pounds, the server is designed to fit into dense racks designed to hold several servers at once. The NetWinder 3100 consumes 14 watts of power, compared with 60 watts by a comparable server using a chip from Intel, according to Rebel. In the past, companies would install a few complex multiprocessor servers to run their Web sites and databases. Increasingly, however, many e-commerce companies and others are opting to let part of their networks depend on phalanxes of nearly identical, easily replaceable and fairly cheap servers.
Power consumption is a crucial factor in such companies' dense computing rooms.
The more power a server consumes, the more heat it gives off. Astronomical utility costs, independent generators, super-cooled operation rooms, and an insatiable need for more floor space have all become facts of life for Web hosting companies. If the cooling systems break down, servers can melt, causing Web site failure and angry calls from clients. Conversely, by reducing power consumption, companies can increase the number of servers they can cram into a finite space. Other companies, such as RLX Computing and FiberCycle, plan on releasing Transmeta-based servers in the first half of the year, according to sources at both companies.