HP applies a firehose to virtualization with new technologies - iTWire podcast

Tony Austin
Sunday, 23 November 2008 18:21

Business IT - Technology

HP Asia Pacific has announced breakthrough networking, storage and server products that reduce costs, increase bandwidth flexibility and improve overall performance of virtual server environments. HP's Raymond Maisano, BladeSystem spokesperson for ANZ, explains their significance in this iTWire podcast.

Hewlett Packard has just announced breakthrough networking, storage and server technologies that reduce costs, increase bandwidth flexibility and improve overall performance of virtual server environments.

The HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 Ethernet module, a direct connect storage bundle for HP BladeSystem, and the HP ProLiant DL385 G5p server are among HP’s offerings that are helping customers efficiently deploy their virtualized infrastructures.

While a growing number of companies deploy server virtualization to gain operational savings within their technology infrastructures, the cost of networking virtual servers continues to climb – for example, a typical server that hosts virtual machines requires six network connections.

To reap the benefits of their virtualized environment, companies are finding it necessary to invest in additional networking equipment, including network expansion cards, switches and cables.

As an example, customers must purchase expensive network switches in either one Gigabit (Gb) or 10Gb increments to meet the increased bandwidth required for additional virtual server workloads.

HP’s new HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 Ethernet module is the industry’s first interconnect technology that can allocate the bandwidth of a 10Gb Ethernet network port across four network interface card (NIC) connections.

This increase in bandwidth flexibility eliminates the need for additional network hardware equipment. As a result, customers deploying virtual machines and utilizing Virtual Connect Flex-10 can realize savings of up to 55 percent in network equipment costs.

Virtual Connect Flex-10 can save 240 watts of power per HP BladeSystem enclosure – or 3,150 kilowatt hours per year – compared to existing networking technologies.

“Customers looking to eliminate the common obstacles of networking costs and bandwidth flexibility should look no further than HP,” said Mark Potter, vice president and general manager, BladeSystem, HP. “These technologies break down the barriers of virtualized networks, giving customers the greatest return on their investments.”

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