BladeSystem Matrix takes aim at Cisco

20.04.2009
has rolled out BladeSystem Matrix, a converged software, server, storage and network platform designed to compete against . 

BladeSystem Matrix, announced Monday, weaves numerous hardware and software pieces together into one system, creating "an integrated pool of resources that operate in both physical and virtual environments," HP says. A self-service portal allows IT shops to quickly design, deploy and optimize applications, the company says.

The idea is to eliminate the "islands" of IT in which separate teams manage servers, networking, power, and virtual machines, says Jim Ganthier, HP's vice president of marketing for infrastructure, software and blades.

"What if the were just one large pool, a pool of compute, a pool of networking and storage, all run by a very simple, easy-to-use management framework," he says.

HP's announcement comes two months after Cisco unveiled UCS, which will tie together compute, network, virtualization, storage access and management technologies into one platform. The Cisco UCS is designed for rapid application deployment in highly virtualized data centers.

Also competing in this market is , a relatively new vendor that boasts of its ability to support virtualized and bare metal applications with the same management system. Liquid Computing has its unified platform on the market, while Cisco's will not be generally available until June.