Cobalt makes Linux-based "server appliances," servers designed to do a limited number of tasks with a minimum amount of fuss. The company filed to go public in September.
Through the agreement, Gateway adds server appliances to a server line that thus far has included only general-purpose machines that stemmed from its 1997 acquisition of Advanced Logic Research.
Some of Gateway's biggest competitors, including Dell, Compaq, and Hewlett-Packard, have embraced the server appliance strategy. Though analysts project a big market for the relatively simple machines, they also predict sales of server appliances will steal revenue away from general-purpose server sales.
The Cobalt machines, such as the Qube and RaQ, use the Linux operating system, a clone of Unix that's developed through the open-source method of sharing programs freely. It's not Gateway's first contact with Linux, though. The company announced it will custom install Red Hat Linux in September.
Gateway said in a statement that the deal with Cobalt will help Gateway in its effort to sell Internet infrastructure to small and medium businesses.
Verio, a Web site hosting company, uses 1,650 RaQ servers to power a new service Verio is offering.
The Verio service offers customers email accounts, Web page storage space for high-traffic sites, search engine tools, and round-the-clock server monitoring. The service, which costs between $230 and $475 a month, was designed by DigitalNation, a company Verio acquired.
Cobalt Networks isn't the only company to see green in the server appliance market. CacheFlow, which sells special-purpose high-speed servers to speed Internet access, filed to raise as much as $50 million in an initial public offering.
In the three months ended July 31, CacheFlow had revenues of $3.6 million but a net loss of $6 million.
CacheFlow's IPO is being underwritten by Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse First Boston, and Dain Rauscher Wessels, the company said in a September 28 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Play video
There are currently no comments for this post.