HP's new virtualization servers provide path to cloud

18.10.2011
Hewlett-Packard on Monday announced new servers that come pre-configured with Microsoft software to help companies deploy virtualized workloads more quickly.

HP's VirtualSystem for Microsoft includes HP servers and Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization software, and will help customers to rapidly deploy applications including SharePoint, Exchange Server and SQL Server, said Jeff Carlat, director of industry standard servers and software marketing, enterprise storage, servers and networking.

The virtual workloads, hardware and other resources can be managed using HP's Insight Control and Microsoft System Centers.

The servers provide a path to help customers build private and public clouds, and link the two in a hybrid cloud, he said. VirtualSystem for Microsoft uses the same architecture as the HP CloudSystem, which combines storage, networking and servers to reduce latency when scaling configurations in cloud deployments.

Virtualization isn't optimal for all types of cloud deployment. Service providers such as Facebook, for example, which have to crunch large volumes of very small Web transactions, have opted for using thousands of low-power servers.

Some newer applications scale in a different way, but many traditional applications function perfectly well in virtualized environments, said Frances Guida, manager of HP cloud solutions and infrastructure, enterprise servers, storage and networking. Virtualization allows companies to scale their capacity up and down quickly to match changing workloads, he said.