Most Linux Deployments On Dual Processors

Most Linux computer servers used in the enterprise are running on dual processors, reflecting a transition in the marketplace for the open-source operating system toward heavier enterprise workloads, a research firm said Monday.

The annual growth rate of Linux server shipments has risen over the last three years to 40 percent in the second quarter of this year from 15 percent in the same period in 2001, International Data Corp. said.

"In the past few years, we have seen an increasing number of organizations adopt and deploy Linux for the basic infrastructure workloads, in part driven by their focus to reduce overall IT acquisition costs," IDC analyst Jessica Yang said in a statement.

More recently, Linux is beginning to be considered for running databases and other enterprise applications, and IDC expects the platform to become more diverse and take on more workloads over time.

The trend of moving enterprise workloads onto Linux is being boosted by the release of Linux 2.6, which supports scalable servers; strong support from infrastructure vendors; and the ability of Linux servers to take on stronger roles as database engines for multi-tiered computing infrastructure, IDC said.Because of the trend toward heavier workloads, dual-processor Linux systems have been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 89.8 percent, and account for 74 percent of the total Linux server shipment volume in the market today.

IDC forecasts Linux-server shipments to account for 25.7 percent of worldwide server shipments in 2008, compared with 15.6 percent last year. Market revenue is expected to reach $9.1 billion in 2008, driven by a CAGR of 22.8 percent. The overall server market is expected to post a CAGR of 3.8 percent during the same time period.