HP has high hopes for new 'killer box' server

HEWLETT-Packard is going after rivals IBM and Sun Microsystems in the UNIX client-server market with a new 'killer box' it brings on the market today.

The HP 9000 K-class mid-range server should help HP take a significant bite out of the commercial and engineering markets, areas in which both IBM and Sun are strong players, according to HP Hong Kong computer systems marketing manager Michael Lam.

'We are making an effort to stop Sun being active in the commercial market,' Mr Lam said. 'Customers are looking for a total solution, not just a hot box and right now we have the hottest box around. There is no reason for a customer to buy a Sun.' The K-class server, the hot box in question, although capable of performing in a whole slew of markets, is being squarely targeted at the business market. Everything about it - from its HP-UX version 10.0 operating system to its benchmarked performance in on-line transaction processing (OLTP) applications to its four-way symmetric multiprocessing capabilities - is aimed at that one key target.

According to HP, the US$29,353 machine has double the performance of, but is cheaper than, the RS/6000 J30 four-processor server from IBM. It is also said to be twice as fast as, yet half the cost of Sun's eight-CPU SS1000E server. Sun's 10-CPU SC2000, IBM's fastest AS/400 minicomputer and AT & T's four-CPU Model 3455 are also beaten by the cheaper HP 9000 K-class.

The server still fits between the mid and high-end of HP's 9000 family of computers, Tim Shaughnessy, partner marketing manager at HP Asia-Pacific's systems marketing centre, said.

'Basically [we are] extending the mid-range family,' Mr Shaughnessy said, adding that scalability was one of the key features of the new server.