Cobalt Networks
Encyclopedia
Cobalt Networks was a maker of low-cost Linux
-based server
s. Founded in 1996 in Mountain View, California
under the name Cobalt Microserver, the company pioneered easy-to-use server appliance
s featuring secure web user interfaces, designed for Internet service provider
s (ISPs) and small to medium sized businesses. Cobalt had an extremely successful IPO
in December 1999 under the ticker symbol COBT, when its stock price surged from an initial value of $22 to $128.13 at market close. Less than a year later, in September 2000, Sun Microsystems
announced it would acquire Cobalt for $2 billion in stock, in an attempt to compete with other Linux-based server vendors. Sun completed the acquisition in December 2000. In hindsight, the timing could not have been worse for an Internet-related acquisition, as the Internet bubble started to collapse in the last quarter of 2000, accelerating through the following year. Sun's Cobalt product line saw some initial success that soon dwindled as Cobalt's core ISP market started shrinking dramatically. In December 2003, Sun retired its Cobalt products, opting at the same time to open source
the underlying software and firmware.
Cobalt Networks produced many different types of appliance servers. The two most popular were the Cobalt RaQ
3 and RaQ4. The RaQ3 had a 300 MHz AMD K6-2
processor while the RaQ4 ran at 450 MHz. Cobalt also made a RaQ2 with a 250 MHz RM5231
microprocessor along with a RaQ 550 with a 1 GHz processor, and the Sun Cobalt RaQ XTR.
The dedicated server market was one of the largest customer markets for Cobalt servers. CobaltRacks was and is an independent dedicated server company that purchased hundreds of servers from Cobalt Networks. Many other hosting companies and ISPs purchased Cobalt Networks servers. The servers themselves were commonly referred to as blue pizza boxes
by employees of these hosting companies because of their size, shape and color.
System administrator
s could operate Cobalt systems via a small LCD display and four buttons to its right in the center of the server's front panel. Operation was akin more to controlling an appliance such as a VCR rather than a typical general-purpose server.
Although the product line was canceled by Sun three years after its acquisition, Cobalt's products had lasting impact: it was the most successful web server appliance vendor of that time, and that success motivated the founding of blade server pioneer RLX Technologies (later acquired by Hewlett-Packard
). Cobalt's engineers were instrumental in launching Sun's current presence in the x86 market; they designed Sun's first x86-based general purpose server, the LX50, and provided engineering and marketing resources that later produced Sun's Sun Fire
V60x and V65x servers.
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
-based server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
s. Founded in 1996 in Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
under the name Cobalt Microserver, the company pioneered easy-to-use server appliance
Server appliance
A server appliance is a computer appliance that works as a server. It is designed so that the end-user does not need to understand the details of the operating system or the commands associated with it. Server appliances have their hardware and software preconfigured by the manufacturer. The...
s featuring secure web user interfaces, designed for Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s (ISPs) and small to medium sized businesses. Cobalt had an extremely successful IPO
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
in December 1999 under the ticker symbol COBT, when its stock price surged from an initial value of $22 to $128.13 at market close. Less than a year later, in September 2000, Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
announced it would acquire Cobalt for $2 billion in stock, in an attempt to compete with other Linux-based server vendors. Sun completed the acquisition in December 2000. In hindsight, the timing could not have been worse for an Internet-related acquisition, as the Internet bubble started to collapse in the last quarter of 2000, accelerating through the following year. Sun's Cobalt product line saw some initial success that soon dwindled as Cobalt's core ISP market started shrinking dramatically. In December 2003, Sun retired its Cobalt products, opting at the same time to open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
the underlying software and firmware.
Cobalt Networks produced many different types of appliance servers. The two most popular were the Cobalt RaQ
Cobalt RaQ
The Cobalt RaQ is a 1U rackmount server product line developed by Cobalt Networks, Inc. featuring a modified Red Hat Linux operating system and a proprietary GUI for server management...
3 and RaQ4. The RaQ3 had a 300 MHz AMD K6-2
AMD K6-2
The K6-2 was an x86 microprocessor introduced by AMD on May 28, 1998, and available in speeds ranging from 266 to 550 MHz. An enhancement of the original K6, the K6-2 introduced AMD's 3D-Now! SIMD instruction set, featured a larger 64 KiB Level 1 cache , and an upgraded system-bus interface...
processor while the RaQ4 ran at 450 MHz. Cobalt also made a RaQ2 with a 250 MHz RM5231
R5000
The R5000 is a microprocessor that implements the MIPS IV instruction set architecture developed by Quantum Effect Design . The project was funded by MIPS Technologies, Inc , also the licensor. MTI then licensed the design to Integrated Device Technology , NEC, NKK, and Toshiba...
microprocessor along with a RaQ 550 with a 1 GHz processor, and the Sun Cobalt RaQ XTR.
The dedicated server market was one of the largest customer markets for Cobalt servers. CobaltRacks was and is an independent dedicated server company that purchased hundreds of servers from Cobalt Networks. Many other hosting companies and ISPs purchased Cobalt Networks servers. The servers themselves were commonly referred to as blue pizza boxes
Pizza box form factor
In computing, a pizza box is a style of case for computers or network switches. Cases of this type tend to be wide and flat, normally one or two rack units in height, thus resembling pizza delivery boxes....
by employees of these hosting companies because of their size, shape and color.
System administrator
System administrator
A system administrator, IT systems administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network...
s could operate Cobalt systems via a small LCD display and four buttons to its right in the center of the server's front panel. Operation was akin more to controlling an appliance such as a VCR rather than a typical general-purpose server.
Although the product line was canceled by Sun three years after its acquisition, Cobalt's products had lasting impact: it was the most successful web server appliance vendor of that time, and that success motivated the founding of blade server pioneer RLX Technologies (later acquired by Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
). Cobalt's engineers were instrumental in launching Sun's current presence in the x86 market; they designed Sun's first x86-based general purpose server, the LX50, and provided engineering and marketing resources that later produced Sun's Sun Fire
Sun Fire
The Sun Fire server brand is a series of server computers introduced in 2001 by Sun Microsystems . The Sun Fire branding coincided with the introduction of the UltraSPARC III processor, superseding the UltraSPARC II-based Sun Enterprise series...
V60x and V65x servers.