A netbook processor uses a fifth of the power of a typical server processor, although it only manages about a third the performance and is a lot cheaper to make.
According to Jim Larus, director of software architecture for data-centre futures, while a data centre would require three times as many netbook processors it would still run on less juice than a typical server set up and be cheaper.
The processors being used are apparently none other than Intel's low powered Atom, interesting because if firm's like Microsoft decide the experiment went well, it could decide it would rather use Atoms to power its data centres, resulting in Intel's big margin server chip market disappearing sharpish.
When we put this to an Intel spokesman, he snapped "Why do you think a server version would be cheap?", adding "a clever journalist will find nehalem's power efficiency most appealing to this kind of app". Ouch.
Feeling hurt and rejected, we approached an Intel spokeswoman instead, who kindly gave us another response. "Intel purpose built Intel Atom for internet centric, affordable computers",
Connie Brown from Intel Media Relations told the INQ, adding "Of course OEMs and other industry leaders can research and do whatever they like with the processors. This will be an interesting one to watch".
Indeed it will Connie!
Computerworld