HP adds x86 to servers

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has updated the roadmap for its high-end Integrity servers to include systems that can accommodate both Xeon- and Itanium-based servers side by side, PCWorld reports.

It is a significant move for HP, and one that could help it to deflect the onslaught of criticism against Itanium from server rival Oracle, which insists that Itanium is a platform with no future.

The Inquirer writes that the plans, dubbed 'Project Odyssey', will see HP introduce Intel Xeon-based blades for its Superdome 2 system enclosures, and bring some features from its Integrity platform to the mainstream C-class BladeSystem enclosures to beef up the mission-critical capabilities of Windows and Linux.

HP said the move is about offering greater choice to its Integrity customers, who are increasingly looking at moving workloads to Windows and Linux as a way of reducing costs.

"[Organisations] need the availability and resilience of Unix-based platforms along with the familiarity and cost-efficiency of industry-standard platforms," ZDNet quotes HP as saying in a statement.

"Using advanced technology across a common, modular HP BladeSystem architecture, HP is developing platforms to enable clients to choose the best environment aligned to their organisations' needs without compromise."