HP launches on-site blade optimisation
Monthly visits from the blademeisters.
By Denise Dubie, Network World | Published: 12:42, 14 May 2007
HP has announced a set of services that help users optimise their blades, including power and cooling options, security measures and process improvements.
HP Proactive BladeSystem service covers HP BladeSystem blade servers, HP StorageWorks blades, blade enclosures, bladed networking and storage-area network devices, and HP management software. The service, which involves HP technology experts assessing customer environments and updating assessments monthly, is intended for customers with 50 or more blades. HP professional services staff would advise customers on how the blades are racked, networked and secured.
The set of services includes a basic assessment as well as specific analysis around power and cooling, security, installation, virtualisation and ongoing education. HP staff could provide guidance on how to best deploy the blades in relation to data centre priorities, such as power and cooling, as well as advice in what scenarios virtualisation technology would make sense with the blades, for instance. The service also provides insight into IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices that can be put in place to better manage the bladed environment.
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With competition primarily from IBM, HP says this set of services can help midsize and enterprise companies get more from their blade environments and optimise performance through implementation and education.
"HP would provide a blade expert on site to provide a set of recommendations on how to make improvements and optimise their investment in blades," says Flynn Maloy, a marketing manager at HP. The service also includes review visits from the HP representative to help with the implementation of new technology, system or application roll outs, he says. "We are seeing a growing adoption of blade technology and customers are running more mission-critical applications on blades. It is important they be proactive about their blade infrastructure."
HP Proactive BladeSystem costs $33,000 in the US for one year of service.
