HP's new datacenter in a box

HP is taking a page from Steve Jobs. The company was able to keep the wraps on a major product announcement that Ann Livermore, executive vice president of technology solutions, called "adaptive infrastructure in a 17-inch box." The platform was officially launched at a press event and live webcast at HP's Palo Alto headquarters this morning. While the event is going on, the press releases aren't available on line, which is not the smartest move. Zero buzz in the blogosphere an hour into the presentation. I caught some of the Webcast, where Livermore claimed that HP's new c-Class blade offering leapfrogs IBM as well as Sun, both heavyweights in server infrastructure. The new HP BladeSystem platform includes a wide array of software for provisioning, management, a thermal control dashboard, new cooling technology and a 2-inch LCD information display that allows administrators to manage, troubleshoot and repair systems.  More to come...

HP's new c-Class blade platform is not compatible with HP's previous blade platform, which creates some pain for customers and fodder for competitors.  But Livermore said that the new platform will reduce datacenter facilities costs by up to 60 percent, acquisition cost by up to 40 percent  and set up time by more than 90 percent. In addition, the new platform the administrator to server ratio is 200 to 1, said Mark Potter, vice president of HPBladeSystem. The Active Cool Fan can cut air-conditioning by 30 percent and energy consumption by up to 50 percent. HP has formed thermal group --the Cool Team--with about 150 people worldwide who are developing new fans, based on the motors and blades used in radio controlled planes. According to Wade Vinson, HP's fan man, the company has filed 20 patents on its new fan design.  Press release here.