Hewlett-Packard hopes to remedy its poor showing in the low-end Unix server market after the International Data Corporation`s 4Q99 Server Market Tracker reported Sun`s 10% lead.
Two new A-Class HP 9000 servers - the A400 and A500 - should deliver the power that service providers, dotcoms, enterprise and mid-market users need from an affordable entry-level server. HP hopes its machines - code-named Piranha - will nibble away at Sun, IBM and Compaq`s market share in this arena, and eventually promote it to a dominant position.
Costing $4 600 for the A400 and $9 200 for the A500, the systems both use the 64-bit PA-8500 processors, with the A500 also able to take the PA-8600 and capable of two-way processing. The A500 also fits 8GB RAM and four 66MHz PCI slots (two independent channel, two shared), while the A400 boasts 2GB RAM and two PCI slots. While HP says the hardware platform is 13 times more powerful than the previous A180, the real value of the A-Class is in the software.
Nokia`s WAP Server ports free of charge, purportedly an industry first. Load balancing software Resonate is licensed for up to three-server systems. Infoseek`s search engine is also free for 500 documents, and Inktomi offers its Web caching software on the platform. A partnership with Real Networks supplies content streaming, while Checkpoint delivers VPN security.
HP says this bundle is worth $20 000. The applications sit on the HP-UX 11.0 operating system, although the A400 and A500 will also run Linux. HP-UX 10.20 is still supported on the A180.
The A9000 family does not have an upgrade path to IA-64 like the mid-range L- and N-class HP servers, but applications can be ported from the RISC to IA architecture when Intel ships Itanium.
The timing for the release of the low-end Unix products is not only governed by a need to take a bigger share of the $11 billion entry-level market. The emerging application service provider (ASP) arena is waiting to be tapped and HP believes it can take advantage of the 100% compound annual growth rate.
Cracking this market is tough, as ASPs require scalability and high availability. The small footprint and the one- to 20-in-a-rack configuration ensure scalability, while its MC/ServiceGuard clustering product should deliver the availability. It also promises a six-hour call-to-repair service and next-day delivery.
The A400 and A500 will be available in July.
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