HP Monday joined rank with IBM and Dell as Intel’s much-publicized Extended Memory 64-bit Technology (EM64T) processor (AKA Nocona) became a reality. HP added five second-generation dual-processor ProLiant servers containing the new Intel Xeon processor to its stable.
Intel’s new EM64T chip transparently extends x86 computing from 32-bit to 64-bit, enabling enterprises to mix 32- and 64-bit applications within the same platform. The new Xeon processor also claims 1.5 times system bus speed, faster memory technology, and PCI Express I/O technology.
The two-processor HP ProLiant systems (the DL380 G4, the DL360 G4, ML370 G4, the ML350 G4, and the BL20p G3) cover a sprectrum of form factors, as they play in the rack, pedestal, and blade spaces.
- The HP ProLiant ML350 server contains two Xeon EM64T processors running at 3.0 GHz. It has an 800 MHz front side bus, 1M of cache, and 512 MB of memory. It is priced starting at $1,529.
- The HP ProLiant ML370 contains two Xeon EM64T processors running at 3.4 GHz. It has an 800 MHz front side bus, 1M of cache, and 1 GB of memory. It is priced starting at $2,899.
- The HP ProLiant DL360 contains two Xeon EM64T processors running at 3.0 GHz. It has an 800 MHz front-side bus, 1M of cache, and 1GB of memory within a 1U (1.75 inch) footprint. It is priced starting at $2,349.
- The HP ProLiant DL380 contains two Xeon EM64T processors running at 3.4 GHz. It has an 800 MHz front side bus, 1M of cache, and 1 GB of memory. Because of its 2U (3.5 inch) form factor, it is being marketed to
space-constrained corporate data centers and service providers. It is priced starting from $3,449. - The dual-processor HP ProLiant BL20p blade server contains two Xeon EM64T processors running at 3.2 GHz. It has an 800 MHz front side bus, 1M of cache, and 1GB of memory. The BL20p is scheduled to begin shipping on September 1, 2004. Pricing has not yet been set.
All of these ProLiant servers run Windows and Linux. With the exception of the BL20p, all are available for immediate purchase.
According to James Mouton, vice president of platforms for HP’s Industry Standard Servers, the decision was market-driven and part of HP’s strategy of offering “a complete portfolio of Intel products.” This “major architectural change is the next step in Intel’s offerings and demonstrates HP’s commitment to migration in the two-processor space.”
Mouton noted that within these “classic segments” HP will continue to offer choices, such as Xeon and Opteron. Its Integrity and Superdome offerings will continue to focus on Itanium, however.
Sandia National Laboratories is one organization already committed to the Xeon EM64T technology. HP is working with the organization to build a supercomputer based on Xeon EM64T HP ProLiant servers.
Sandia Labs is focused on high-end research and development projects for the U.S. government. Prior to the chip’s release, Sandia was running clustered Linux applications. With the additional 1,280 EM64T-based ProLiants it anticipates the supercomputer will exceed 16 teraflops, which would place it in the No. 5 spot of the current HPTC Top 500 list.
The vendor also unveiled a new storage management product at this time — a storage array that can support both SCSI or Serial ATA (SATA) disk enclosures behind a single controller shelf.
The HP StorageWorksMSA1500 supports either SCSI or Serial ATA (SATA) disk enclosures attached to a single controller shelf. Down the road, it will support SCSI and SATA disk enclosures attached to the same controller shelf. HP also introduced the MSA20, a SATA disk drive storage enclosure with Ultra320 SCSI host connectivity to deliver a mix of low-cost and high capacity for minimum I/O workloads such as reference data, archival, and disk-to-disk backup.
Both MSA1500 and the MSA20 are available for immediate purchase. Pricing starts at $8,995 and $2,959, respectively.
