HP's Gen9
servers
As HP announced their newest line of
ProLiant servers, they made the point that they created the x86 server business
25 years ago. In the same way, this announcement sets the stage for the next 25
years. An ambitious goal, which for most other companies one might dismiss as pure
marketing hype. However, as the leading supplier of x86 servers today one must
take HP’s claim seriously. Clearly, HP will be moving in this new direction for
many years to come. We waited a bit to do this write-up to give HP time to get
its product offerings in order and to update its web site.[1]
It is true that server architectures need
updating. In connection with its last Moonshot announcement, HP described future
server performance requirements. Even merely linear development (of servers) will
need unsustainable power and space requirements using current architectures.
Moonshot represents the first step at addressing these issues. (And a good one in
our view.) We expect customers welcomed
HP's redefined server.
The next evolutionary step is the
Gen9. Here’s how to get more detailed information.
Searching the HP enterprise (not
consumer) web site for “Gen9” servers eventually leads to the ProLiant Server
page. Here’s a link[2]. Down and to the right
is a tab for “Products and Services”, select it to see a list of current
products, such as Blades, Rack servers, Tower servers, etc. Selecting “HP
ProLiant Rack servers” displays “Shop for Rack Servers”, clicking on it takes
you to a page[3]
which provides access to a list of the rack servers that HP is currently
offering.
There are four servers listed marked
as “New”. All are Gen9 servers. Other severs on the same page are Gen8. Checking
the Compare box (below each server) allows you to see the difference between any
of the Gen 9 and any Gen8 servers.
Picking
one of the Gen9 servers, click on “Learn More” goes to a page with additional
models. We picked the DL380 Gen9, and then clicked on the “Select a Model” tab.
This shows 4 sub-models of the DL380.[4]
Selecting one of the sub-models, allows you to configure it, get more details on
it, and explore benchmarks. We picked the most expensive,”HP ProLiant DL380 Gen9 E5-2650v3 2P 32GB-R P440ar 8SFF
2x10Gb 2x800W Perf Server” with a base price of $8,469. Model documentation is
accessible to compare it with others. A very useful section on benchmarks appears
down the page.[5]
We did not explore all of the benchmarks but expect that most of them relate to
Gen8 servers right now. Over time the Gen9 results will be added.[6]
Here’s a few of the key points gathered
on our trip thru HP’s web site.
First, HP obviously remains in a
transition state. They are still selling Gen8 servers in addition to the new
Gen9. They decided a gradual changeover is better than attempting a very likely
disruptive wholesale change. In the meantime, a Gen8 system might be the best
choice for some customers. We agree and think that the way HP is managing this
situation is best for them and for their customers as well. Customer choice is
generally a good thing. For example, if one needs a special feature that is either
not available or supported on Gen9, it remains available on a Gen8 system.
Second, it is well worth exploring the
HP support options. Return to the web page referenced in footnote 1 above, and you
will see what we mean. A specific example, Microsoft ends support for Windows
Server 2003 in 2015. Customers have to move to Windows Server 2012 if they want
continued support. HP offers a comprehensive set of options for the move. All
are described on this page.[7]
We are not saying that HP’s offerings
are the best for any individual customer. We are recommending that anyone
planning a Window’s migration should be aware of their offerings; include
investigating them as part your migration.
Final point. Elements of the Gen9
systems remain a work in progress. For example, at the OneView web site[8], you find that this key
software component does not yet support Gen9. It is promised by year’s end. Other
items are in this category. This is to be expected any time that a company like
HP makes a major transition in technology. They need a reasonable amount of time
to make a full transition.
We recommend that customers evaluating
x86 servers to definitely include HP’s Gen9 offering in their appraisal. While
it is true that HP needs to fill out the offering, they provide enough details
and insight into the future to whet our appetite for more.
[1] We've
learned that what a company offers as order-able products on the web site (including
the base price) might be different from the announcement. Our interest is in
what customers can actually order. We are not accusing HP of doing this.
[3] http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/proliant-servers/index.html?facet=ProLiant-DL-Rack
BTW, our directions here are current as of 9/23/14.
[4] http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/proliant-servers/product-detail.html?oid=7271241#!tab=models
[5] http://h17007.www1.hp.com/us/en/enterprise/servers/benchmarks/index.aspx#.Uw5F1f7naP8
[6] We
did not try all combinations (There are many!) but we were not able to get any
results for Gen9.
[7] http://www8.hp.com/us/en/business-services/it-services.html?compURI=1078276&jumpid=reg_r1002_usen_c-001_title_r0004#.VCLoj_ldXiA
[8] http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/server-software/product-detail.html?oid=5410258 HP's Gen9
servers
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