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Sun, Intel to provide server technology for NBC Olympics

Sun Microsystems will provide server technology using Intel quad-core processors for NBC's Olympic coverage.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers

Sun Microsystems made the Olympic cut. Sun will provide server technology using Intel quad-core processors for NBC's Olympic coverage.

Sun blade server
Sun Microsystems

The technology platform will enable live events to be streamed online to NBCOlympics.com during the Beijing Olympics, which take place from August 8-24, Sun and NBC said Monday.

Intel quad-core Xeon processors will power a total of 160 Sun Fire servers that will drive NBC's Web site, according to an Intel statement. Sun Fire X4150 and X4450 servers will be deployed, according to Sun.

The X4150 servers are offered with quad-core Xeon processors such as the Xeon E5440 (2.83GHz, 80 watts) and the Xeon X5450 (3.0GHz, 80W). The X4450 comes with Xeon 7300 series quad-core processsors such as the Xeon L7345 (1.86GHz, 50W) and Xeon E7340 (2.40GHz, 80W).

In addition to live streaming, the platform will provide video archives of completed events, plus blogs, live chat, and athlete profiles based on approximately 2,200 hours of live streaming Olympic broadband video coverage of 25 different sports on the site.

"Sun has worked hard to architect a powerful, energy-efficient platform for NBCOlympics.com that will rapidly scale for hundreds of millions of sports fans," Peter Ryan, Sun's executive vice president of global sales and services, said in a statement.