HP Introduces Midrange Unix Server With Partitioning, High-Availability Features

Hewlett-Packard

The new rp7410 takes up 10U (17.5 inches) of rack space and can be configured with two to eight PA8700 CPUs at 650MHz or 750MHz. It comes with up to 64 Gbytes of memory and can be configured with one or two hard partitions and/or up to eight virtual partitions.

The hardware partitions use the iCOD capacity-on-demand technology from HP's higher-end Unix servers, said Dimitris Dovas, worldwide Unix midrange product manager for HP.

The virtual partitions can be as small as one processor and can be reallocated dynamically without rebooting, said Dovas. "When the user needs to reallocate partitions, this can be set to be done automatically," he said. "If this partition needs resources, and that partition has extra resources, they can be allocated automatically."

The hardware partitioning capability is currently available, but the software partitioning function will be available when new software is released in the second half of the year, Dovas said.

The rp7410 offers investment protection, including the ability to upgrade installed units to the Itanium processor as well as PA8800, PA8900 and faster PA8700 processors, said Dovas. The rp7410 can also be upgraded to HP's higher-end 16-way rp8400, he said.

Solution providers can use the rp7410's partitioning capability to offer server consolidation services, said Mark Hudson, worldwide marketing manager for HP's Unix server business.

The rp7410 can also be clustered via HP's MC/ServiceGuard technology, over half of which is sold via the company's solution provider channels, Hudson said.

The rp7410 is priced starting at about $69,000 for a two-way configuration with 2 Gbytes of memory. Zero percent financing is also available via solution providers, said Hudson.

HP is aiming the rp7410 at markets currently served by Sun Microsystems' 4800 and IBM's p660-6M1.