HP Launches 8th Generation "Idiot-Proof" Proliant Servers

[Arthur]

It's difficult to get excited about servers, but these do look pretty nice.

www.hp.com/go/proliantgen8 / Overview

Today HP announced a new line of ProLiant servers dubbed ProLiant Generation 8, or Gen8 for short. The new line bakes in automation and monitoring tools and comes equipped with a sensor array for optimizing energy use. The idea is to create a new line of idiot-proof servers that “virtually manage themselves.” HP is calling this “Integrated Lifecycle Automation.”

There’s been a big trend towards using cheap commodity servers, but HP is banking on the idea that it can provide enough value in the Gen8 line to reverse this trend. Cheap servers come with a cost of management overhead – HP cites IDC’s estimates that organizations will spend $157 billion on server management in 2012. HP is hoping to take advantage of that pain point with automation and management features such as:

• Automated server updates via a feature called HP Smart Update, which the company claims can perform otherwise time consuming updates in less than 10 minutes.
• Self-diagnostics with monitoring of over 1,600 data points with the HP Active Health and HP Insight Online features. These features seek to reduce unplanned downtime by monitoring critical infrastructure and alerting techs to problems before they take a system down. This also includes a log management system that can transmit error logging to HP support to reduce the time required reproducing or describing problems.
• A sensor array known as the HP 3D Sea of Sensors designed to optimize power, cooling and space resources not just by determining where resources are most needed, but by actually altering server behavior based on resources available.
• Automated deployment via the “Intelligent Provisioning” feature, which includes a operating system configuration automation tool and an “instant-on” management console that appears only three seconds after boot. All the required firmware and drivers are embedded, so there’s no need to manually install anything from physical media.

Also, the Gen8 servers are all solid state ready and can support as many as 227 drives in a RAID array, readying them for the world of big data. (Source)

[glennda]

I'm a big HP fan but do you not think these look a touch like dell servers?

Tech looks good though do we know release dates??

[localzuk]

Looks like they've finally accepted SSDs too, as there is a mention of 'Solid state optimized'. Wonder if this means 2.5" SSDs or if it means those really expensive PCIe cards they've been selling for a while?

They do look vaguely like Dell machines, however how much can you vary the design of a box that is a specific size, contains hard disks and ports etc... There's not a lot you can do...

[Oaktech]

dell have always had 'the looks' HP are just trying to level the playing field a bit.

[Arthur]

Looks like they've finally accepted SSDs too, as there is a mention of 'Solid state optimized'. Wonder if this means 2.5" SSDs or if it means those really expensive PCIe cards they've been selling for a while?

Probably both, although I wonder which 2.5" SSDs they will use? Intel SSD 710's or Seagate Pulsar.2's perhaps?

The Gen8 machines will support PCI-Express 3.0 peripheral slots – as everyone expects the Xeon E5 machines to – but they will also sport new HP SmartArray disk controllers that are tuned for solid state disks and to offer more secure three-disk mirroring as well as tweaks in the memory modules that will let them run 25 per cent faster than other platforms while at the same time correcting for common memory errors. (Source)

Tech looks good though do we know release dates??

March 2012 according to the PR.

Just in case anyone was wondering why HP's new servers aren't called Proliant G8s, The Register has the answer...

Bootnote
If the ProLiant Gen8 will replace the current ProLiant G7, why isn't it called the ProLiant G8? After all, every vendor uses G for "generation" and numbers to tick off its products as they are enhanced eventually gets to G8. Well, although a few decades ago this wouldn't have mattered, it just so happens that the sound "gee-ate" in Mandarin sounds exactly like a slang word for "penis." Hence the new Gen8 designation. If Gen8 means something weird in another language, please do let us know.

[glennda]

I say the thing The Register had made me chuckle!

Hopefully they will be out and ready for me in the Summer when I replace my VHosts - they look nice and shiny

Also Hopefully they will have a storage array similar design!

[CyberNerd]

I just bought another IBM bladecentre?!
I did a cost comparison, and it still made sense for us to continue with IBM - proliants were too expensive given our upgrade plans.

it just so happens that the sound "gee-ate" in Mandarin sounds exactly like a slang word for "penis." Hence the new Gen8 designation.

That must be why China doesn't go to the penis conference.

[alttab]

the new bezel is very distinctive and looks very kewl. definitely matches the dell's in the looks' stakes now.

stuffing the new 2U server with SSd's is going to be cost prohibitive, but it's good from a future proofing angle that the
new servers are ssd capable out of the box. The 2u full with 16 traditional SAS drives could be an ideal solution for new
deployments of the forthcoming Win8 server OS with the supposed use of local storage for hyper-v clusters. it'll really be a blurring of the lines between Servers + SANs for small deployments in my view. That's sort of already started with network RAID tools like the lefthand VSA.

All the management goodies sound good, but the most important thing for any server vendor moving forwards in my view is tight integration with systems centre 2012 which should be a one-stop shop for server management rather than specific tools supplied with the different box shifters. The sheer number of options that seem to exist whether it's openmanage with dell, or the various deploy+manage options with hp and ibm, have always left me scratching my head.

[localzuk]

The enterprise level SSDs that exist seem to be between £700 - £2500 for a 200GB one. Prices will inevitably fall.

The lower end of the range are the OCZ enterprise SAS drives, the other end the HP ones they have released.

I'd not use the OCZ ones for anything important yet, but I would happily use a couple for a high spec terminal server.

[CyberNerd]

I'd not use the OCZ ones for anything important yet, but I would happily use a couple for a high spec terminal server.

I'm using 10x OCZ SSD's in terminal servers. None have failed yet (but several have failed in non server roles).
The good thing with terminal servers is that there is always built in redundancy

[Arthur]

I'm using 10x OCZ SSD's in terminal servers. None have failed yet (but several have failed in non server roles).

Do you ever check the SMART attributes of your SSDs to see how much data you have written to them?

[CyberNerd]

Do you ever check the SMART attributes of your SSDs to see how much data you have written to them?

Thats the other great thing about using cheap desktop components in terminal servers, I can afford to bin them every 2-3yrs

[Arthur]

I can afford to bin them every 2-3yrs

You just have to hope they don't all die at once...

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