RedNOVA: End-user adoption of Linux servers for enterprise workloads, hosting ISV applications and databases, is on the rise, fueling a transition in the marketplace. The annual growth rate of Linux server unit shipments has been increasing over the past three years from 15% in 2Q01 to 40% in 2Q04. Given this rapid adoption, the mix of form-factors for these Linux servers has been changing over time, with the result that dual-processor systems are the predominant form-factor, followed by uniprocessors and four-processor systems. A new IDC Insight study provides data about this trend, and shows the market dynamics, by form-factor segment, within the Linux server market space.

"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," said Jessica Yang, research analyst of Modular Server Solutions at IDC. "More recently, customers are beginning to consider Linux servers for databases and other enterprise applications. We will see the Linux server platform become more diverse and take on more workloads over time as Linux server adoption broadens."

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