World’s First Two-in-one Server Blade Joins HP Portfolio for Powering 'Scale-out' Computing Environments

May 28, 2008

HP today announced the world’s first two-in-one server blade, which offers customers with scale-out environments improved data center performance, reduced floor space and lower power usage.

Businesses with cloud computing, Web 2.0 and high-performance computing (HPC) deployments have data centers with hundreds to thousands of servers, multi-petabyte levels of storage capacity and massive performance needs. These “scale-out” environments require increased performance, lower energy consumption, improved cooling techniques and a need to maximize existing data center floor space.

To address these needs, the HP ProLiant BL2x220c G5 combines two independent servers in a single blade, enabling customers to double compute power and significantly reduce data center space requirements. It delivers 60 percent better performance per watt than similar configurations on the market and minimizes cooling and power costs.

HP has created a dedicated set of resources, expertise and development efforts called the “Scalable Computing and Infrastructure” business unit to build solutions designed for scale-out customers. The BL2x220c joins the recently announced HP StorageWorks 9100 Extreme Data Storage System (ExDS9100) in addressing the scale-out market. The ExDS91000 is a highly scalable storage system designed to simplify the management of multiple petabytes of data at an affordable cost, making it ideal for online and digital media businesses.

“HP continues to be the best at helping customers of all sizes manage and transform their technology environments to deliver better business outcomes,” said Ann Livermore, executive vice president, Technology Solutions Group, HP. “Customers in Web 2.0, HPC and emerging cloud deployments across many business segments are looking for the competitive advantages that scale-out computing can provide. Through innovations in server density, power efficiency, storage management and data center services, we are committed to being the company that powers scale-out infrastructures.”

HP offers scale-out customers the domain expertise that results from designing and retrofitting more than 30 million square feet of data center floor space and powering 166 of the top 500 supercomputer installations. The new BL2x220c extends HP’s proven portfolio of hardware, software and services for the scale-out market.

“Home to the world’s leading Internet sites for social networking, games, sports photos and more, Fox Interactive Media helps millions of people around the globe stay informed and connected through online media accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” said Ian Hurlock-Jones, chief information officer, Fox Interactive Media.

“Each month, billions of pages are viewed, hundreds of millions of photos and videos are uploaded and watched and those numbers just keep growing, constantly pushing the boundaries of our infrastructure. For us to meet these growing demands we need high-performance platforms that minimize energy consumption and have high density and capacity. HP’s computing team understands our unique requirements and offers us end-to-end cloud computing and storage solutions that allow us to more easily scale as we grow.”

The BL2x220c is the industry’s first server blade to offer more than three times the density of traditional 1U rack-mount servers. Its innovative design specifically addresses the exponential data growth facing companies with cloud computing, Web 2.0 and HPC deployments. Additionally, the new server blade uses HP’s award-winning management and configuration tools, which help drive down costs and mitigate risk.

“The IT industry is at an inflection point with companies demanding more efficient, highly-utilized scale-out technologies that can improve the economic model for their data centers,” said Michelle Bailey, research vice president, Datacenter Trends program, IDC.

“The growth in digital information is changing the course of the data center, forcing organizations to quickly scale their infrastructures to keep pace with user demands. To meet this challenge, customers are taking a far more holistic approach to data center management – rethinking everything from hardware, services and management software to physical facilities including power and cooling requirements. This fundamental shift represents a huge opportunity for technology companies, like HP, to offer a set of solutions that manage the data center as a whole.”

Source: HP