14 DAY TRIAL // HP is the second leader to 'embrace' AMD's Opteron dual-core processors for its range of servers and server blades. After Dell's order of no less than 2 million Opterons, HP intends to roll out the ProLiant and HP BladeSystem servers, which feature enhanced power and cooling, improving the system's performance by 15%.
The company chose the AMD Opteron 2000 and 8000 Series processors, DDR2 memory technology, small form factor disk drives, introducing the new HP Smart Array RAID controllers and multifunction networking.
The new x86 processor-based HP ProLiant and HP BladeSystem servers include the HP ProLiant DL385 G2 and DL585 G2 rack-optimized servers and the HP ProLiant BL25p G2, BL45p G2, BL465c and BL685c server blades, reports Hardware News.
Moreover, the BL465c and BL685c server blades are said to be the company's first Opteron powered platforms launched for its innovative c-Class blade architecture. The BL685c, on the other hand, is the BladeSystem c-Class version of the well-known 4P blade BL45p.
"In addition to delivering servers that set high standards for power efficiency and control in the enterprise, HP is working with AMD to offer solutions optimized for virtualization, and the results are impressive," said Marty Seyer, senior vice president, Commercial Segment, AMD. "The AMD Opteron processor-based HP ProLiant DL585 has become one of the preferred choices for virtualization among Wall Street IT customers. With a broad array of proven servers and server blades based on Next-Generation AMD Opteron processors, HP and AMD are delivering what data center managers crave most - predictability and stability with quad-core ready systems that will offer a consistent thermal envelope as they make the transition from dual- to quad-core in 2007."
But the company recently created the HP BladeSystem Solution Builder Program, an initiative which has a sole target - the development of tools for server blade customers. The program gathers several manufacturers such as hardware and software specialized companies, system integrators and value-added resellers.
The latest achievement of the program is a solution for Oracle Real Application Clusters 10g and Red Hat Enterprise Linux for both current and forthcoming BL25p and BL45p server blades, which delivers scalability by running packaged or custom applications unchanged in a cluster of server blades.
In order to ship the Oracle 10g RAC solution, new members have joined the program, including Agilysys, Lilien Systems, Logicalis, Melillo Consulting and Virtus Partners. The dual-core HP ProLiant DL145, DL385, DL585, BL25p, BL45p, BL465c and BL685c are expected to be available later this year. Unfortunately, the manufacturer didn't disclose the price for its latest products.