Hewlett-Packard (HP) has boosted its Unix server line by adding
faster processors to some midrange systems and announcing a new
entry-level server to its AlphaServer family, which it acquired
when it bought Compaq.
HP will now ship its 875MHz PA-8700+ processor with its four-,
eight- and 16-way servers, which use the HP-UX operating system and
whose faster chips previously featured a maximum clock speed of
750MHz.
The faster 875MHz processors were already available in HP's
high-end Superdome Unix system, said Mark Hudson, director of
worldwide marketing for HP's business critical systems.
An entry price for the rp5470 with one 875MHz PA-RISC processor and
1Gbyte of memory is $36,000 (£23,400). A larger system with four
processors and 4Gbytes of memory is $88,000.
An eight-processor rp7410 with 8Gbytes of memory is $265,000. The
larger rp8400 stacked with 16 processors and 16Gbytes of memory is
$527,000.
HP's Unix servers compete head-to-head against similar offerings
from Sun and IBM. These servers are used to run core business
applications and come with various hardware and software tools for
keeping the systems up and running.
HP has also added faster chips to its AlphaServer products, which
were originally designed by Digital Equipment and then acquired by
Compaq.
The AlphaServer ES45 and SC45 now ship with 1.25GHz EV68
processors, up from 1GHz. HP will ship new AlphaServer GS80, GS160
and GS320 servers as well with 1.224GHz EV68 chips later this
month.
The ES45 with one 1.25GHz processor, 1Gbyte of memory and an
18Gbyte disc is listed at $54,087. A GS80 server with one 1.224GHz
chip, 1Gbyte of memory and an 18Gbyte disc is $91,500.
Additionally, HP has started shipping a new two-processor DS25
server running on 1GHz processors. The system, which runs on Tru64
Unix, starts at $24,745 with one processor, 512Mbytes of memory and
an 18Gbyte disc.
The DS25 fits into the low end of HP's AlphaServer line, which is
also aimed at business applications.