HP launches sixth server generation

       Hewlett-Packard Thailand has launched its sixth generation of servers that for the first time brings enterprise class management to the SMB market in an easy to use, easy to understand way.
       Ekkarat Klinbubpa, product marketing manager for industry standard servers at HP Thailand said the Proliant 100 series used to be aimed at competing with no-name, white-box servers at the SMB (small to medium business) end of the market and lacked the sophistication of the 300-series servers. However, with SMBs becoming more advanced and using more IT not just for back office processing but front office productivity advances, that segment now needs management features to keep the business going even when the CIO is out of town.
       The G6 Proliant 100 series has three features that is not present in the typical white box commodity server: An easy setup CD, the Proliant On-board Administrator chip and SNMP support.
       Most Thai people think they can do without a Setup CD, but when it comes to Servers, things can be a bit different from desktops. Most servers do not use SATA (Serial ATA), but SAS (serial attached SCSI) for storage and each vendor has its own drivers. Only half the users know how to press F6 at the right time in Windows Setup to install the driver.The rest spend three days fumbling before they give up and call Technical Support.With the easy setup CD and the Windows CD, all you do is fill in the fields and keep clicking next, he said.
       Apart from easing the pain of setting up Windows Server and its drivers, the CD can be used to re-do RAID (redundant arrays of inexpensive disks) groups when new drives are added or to wipe the machine totally before handing it over to someone else. It also lists support for each OS and version that HP officially supports. He said that in the enterprise space, the choice of OS can affect the warranty status of the server.
       The second feature, the HP Proliant On-board Administration is what Ekkarat described as a ghost on your shoulder looking after your every move and taking control of you when needed.
       It consists of the ILO 100(Integrated Lights Out) chip on the motherboard that is a small computer contained in itself with its own separate LAN port at the back of the server. By logging in, not only can a remote user power on and off a server, they can look at the system's vital signs, myriad of heat and voltage sensors (such as one temperature sensor each after each memory slot). The OA can also remote-control the system and even install a new OS remotely with the remote CD or USB drive attached over the Internet as if it was a local drive. It has text mode for going into the BIOS or Linux and can even capture and replay the boot screen to find any errors.
       Most of the features are standard except the virtual graphical console and remote virtual media that costs extra.
       Finally, the G6 Proliant 100 series now supports SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) for the first time. Many small companies already use SNMP to control and log their network switches and router and thus are familiar and now they can monitor their servers with the same tools too.
       Ekkarat said that IDC puts the total server market at around 8,000 units this year. HP Thailand is pinning its hopes on the public sector and the SMB market for a recovery as the rest of the economy is still weary about resuming spending.