Has anyone used RLX servers?
www.rlxtechnologies.com

If so, what are your experiences? We are looking closely at them. They allow 24 servers in a 3U. Sounds to good to be true.

I would call Exodus and find out from them, since they claimed to be certified by Exodus. But then .. exodus might say great things about them if they're selling them as well.. hehehe.. :)

So nevermind

I have worked with RLX Technologies closely. If you notice, you can fit 24 servers in a 3U case because each "Server (blade)" looks like 1 PCI slot. however, they use Transmeta Chips which aren't exactly Pentium III Xeon's. You might want to contact your COLO facility and see if they allow them since they are so new.

RLX gave us Exodus and Digex for references. Good luck finding someone you can talk too. :D

dherman76, have you 'deployed' them as standard servers, meaning dropping 50 - 200 web sites on them? The technology looks good, plus IBM OEM's the box. They say they are releasing a 1 GHz and 1 GB Ram, dual HD soon. That would be what we need. Anyway, any word you have would be good.

We have tested them in an academic environment. We had the 533 chips. We used 8 blades and the 1 server blade. It was very fast, and extremely cost-effective in terms of rackspace. I would wait till the 1GHZ chips arrive and they will have some serious power.

Originally posted by dherman76
I have worked with RLX Technologies closely. If you notice, you can fit 24 servers in a 3U case because each "Server (blade)" looks like 1 PCI slot. however, they use Transmeta Chips which aren't exactly Pentium III Xeon's. You might want to contact your COLO facility and see if they allow them since they are so new.

What kind of colo facility would not allow them? It's none of their business.

What kind of colo facility would not allow them? It's none of their business.It's every bit of their business.

Originally posted by RackMy.com
It's every bit of their business.


please explain..

Originally posted by RackMy.com
It's every bit of their business.

Ok, I'll concede that I'm being a little bit dramatic by saying 'it's none of their business', but the intent behind my post still stands:

what possible reason would a colo shop have for denying a client from colo'ing an RLX. I can't imagine.

I've spoken with RLX about using the Blades for my Ensim ServerXchange offering. After a careful cost analysis I determined that there is a huge cost savings, however I have concerns about the low powered Transmeta CPU and lack of IDE Raid.

Other wise I plan on brining in the RLX system for eval. I will most likely use it for my dedicated server offering.

Originally posted by RackMy.com
It's every bit of their business.

I remember a few years ago a discussion on a mailing list about if colo facilities would allow the new 1U servers starting to enter the market. Some really dumb managers decided not to allow the 1u boxes because they felt it would hurt their bottom line. The result were lost sales and revenue for them. People took their business elsewhere. Listen.. At some point servers will become so dense you will be able to fit 100's of servers in a 3U space. It is just a fact of life.

What was meant by my comment (I think nopzor understands) is that that it's every colo companies business what type of servers are housed at their facility. I would not let a server that was a fire hazard into the building, etc.

Saying that, I doubt seriously that any host would have a problem with the RLX Servers. They are very nice, but too expensive for what you get and can do with them.

Originally posted by RackMy.com
Saying that, I doubt seriously that any host would have a problem with the RLX Servers. They are very nice, but too expensive for what you get and can do with them.

I agree the up front costs are high. However if you take the time to do the math you will find that there is a HUGE cost savings when you fill a rack.

I figured you can pay for more than 30% of the hardware on just space savings alone when you fill a chassis.

I've spoken with RLX about using the Blades for my Ensim ServerXchange offering. After a careful cost analysis I determined that there is a huge cost savings, however I have concerns about the low powered Transmeta CPU and lack of IDE Raid.

Amen. We talked to RLX and they said they are working with Ensim as we speak. It is amazing how many companies Ensim is working with. Anyway, we had the same concerns. Here were some things the rep told me.

1) We can send them the Ensim Image and they will ship every blade with it so we don't have to deal with it.
2) Software RAID will be an option in the new line with the release of the 1 GHz and 1GB RAM blade.
3) Not that this matters too much, but the never chasis will have a 1 GB backplane.

At some point servers will become so dense you will be able to fit 100's of servers in a 3U space.

The rep said they are releasing something he can not talk about in a 2U. This is to stay one step ahead of Dell, Compac, and Suns soon to be released blade products.

As a side note, another cool feature of RLX is that you can turn the master blade into a back up blade meaning you can back up all Ensim VDS's, etc... to that blade without leaving the box.

Who knows how or if all this works.

How much are the RLX server anyways ?.. any idea ?

You can build them and get a quote at the web site -
www.rlxtechnologies.com

Hmm... they only have 633Mhz CPU .. I wonder when they going to have a faster CPU.

Originally posted by drhonk
Hmm... they only have 633Mhz CPU .. I wonder when they going to have a faster CPU.

The sales rep told me late Sept early Oct time frame for the 800Mhz which will also support 1GB RAM.

Yes, but how does the Transmeta Crusoe processor perform compared to Intel & AMD. If I remember correctly, the Transmeta Crusoe processor emulates 368 processes via software?!

Who has the scoop?