Blade servers offer a way to pack lots of processors into a small space. But they have other advantages as well. There's a savings in networking, hardware maintenance, software upgrade time, and often in power costs. It all comes at a price: All the blades in one enclosure—and the enclosure itself—must come from the same vendor.

This interactive calculator will help you estimate the cost of blade servers for your technology department.

To see the details behind this calculator and fill in your own estimates, click on the "Get the Tool" icon above and download the interactive worksheet.