Sun Microsystems is poised to launch its first Intel Xeon-based rack servers.

The company is scheduled to unveil its Sun Fire X4150 and Sun Fire X4450 servers later today at its Menlo Park campus in Silicon Valley. The servers can feature either dual-core or quad-core Intel Xeon processors.

Sun reopened the door to Intel processors in January, expanding its line of AMD-based x86 servers. The firm is currently shipping an Intel-based blade server but had yet to release its first rack system.

The new X4150 offers a two-socket server design in a case that is 1 unit (1U) high, a standard server height measurement. Two-socket servers currently make up the majority of all server shipments. The X4450 supports four sockets in a 2U design.

Sun previewed the device at the Intel Developer Forum last week and at the 6 September launch of Intel's Tigerton quad-core Xeon chip.

Rebecca Tong, a marketing manager for Sun's Xeon servers, highlighted the servers' small cases and low power design, adding that the four-way server is only half as high as competing models from Dell, HP and IBM while consuming less energy.

This allows users to deploy more servers without increasing their overall power and cooling loads.

Sun is preparing to launch an AMD-based version of its four-socket server by the end of this year. The company declined to comment on the pricing of the AMD system relative to the Intel one.

Most Sun clients already know which is their preferred chip vendor. But the firm also offers assessment services that allow buyers to gauge which architecture offers the best workload for their particular application.