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Servers and Storage Technology for the Adaptive Enterprise

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Issue 1/2006

Transitioning from p to c with class

The HP BladeSystem c-Class represents the next step towards adaptive infrastructure, but there is no reason for customers to feel stampeded into making the transition. The p-Class will be supported until 2012 and continue to prove itself as a valuable investment.

The c-Class is designed to address increasing data centre challenges and take advantage of next-generation technologies. It leverages the five years of experience that HP has gained with the p-Class, as well as millions of euros in technology research and ongoing study into changing customer needs. The result is a flexible, adaptive blade generation designed to meet the coming challenges of the modern data centre.

All of this is a testament to HP’s commitment to blades, but it does not mean that the p-Class has become redundant overnight – far from it. The BladeSystem p-Class still represents a valuable investment. HP will continue to develop and sell p-Class blades with the latest technology through 2007. Indeed, for the next 18 months, the two generations will share the same server blade processor technology – identical processors, memory and disk components.

This means the p-Class will continue to benefit from new processors, with Itanium processor family, Intel and AMD blades and memory technology upgrades being introduced in this period. For example, the HP ProLiant BL25pG2 and BL45pG2 already use the latest 2006 dual-core processors. In addition, a new HP Insight Control management suite with integrated common management tools controlled by a single console is available.

When to transition

Until the end of 2007, p-Class customers have the opportunity to prototype the c-Class and complete full qualification. After 2007, the two generations will be processor-compatible until 2012. Service and support will also continue until this date, at which time the p-Class will have reached the end of its lifecycle.

The strategy behind this extended approach is to ensure that customers derive as much value from their current IT assets during their lifespan as possible. The strategy includes an extended timeframe in which to make the transition. Customers can adapt the new technology when it is most convenient for their business needs.

Of course, the c-Class offers significant benefits beyond the p-Class. It offers twice the power/cooling capacity; double the fabrics and three times the fabric wire speed. This is in addition to storage blades and a host of innovative technology strategies. For some customers, an immediate evaluation and deployment of c-Class blades could be advantageous.

Customers who may benefit are those with highperformance technical environments, large Oracle® rack configurations or those with or requiring high-speed bandwidth network fabrics. The c-Class offers 4 GB FC, 10 GB Ethernet or InfiniBand support to meet the needs of high-density, compute-intensive infrastructure.

The c-Class has also been optimised for a wider range of deployments. The p-Class was primarily designed for data centres. The c-Class is not only suitable for large data centres (the Active Cool Fans allow 16 blades to pack into one enclosure – a 60% density increase), it is flexibly designed to meet the specific needs of SMBs and remote sites.

And as HP uses industry standards in the design, a transition to the c-Class will be smooth and easy. The modularity of the c-Class is similar to the p-Class with the same pre-integration and consolidation of critical data centre components. This means an easy implementation (up to 64 servers can be installed in 15 minutes) resulting in a system that will begin to deliver immediately and continue to meet customer needs over the long-term.

Backwards/forwards Compatibility

While p-Class and c-Class enclosures can co-exist in the same rack, the two generations will not be forwards/ backwards compatible. The reason is one of design. The guiding principle behind the redesign of the c-Class was to exploit the potential of next-generation infrastructure technology, such as improved cooling and power, management and communications.

A p-Class blade placed in a c-Class Enclosure would be unable to take advantage of new functionality, such as the evolving high-bandwidth of 10 GB Ethernet and 4/8 GB Fibre Channel. New blades in a p-Class Enclosure will face cooling issues, limited functionality and require a re-qualification. In both cases, the deployment would not be making the best value from the investment.

Of course, there are similarities between the two generations. The cabling, connection, cords and management tools are common, while the racks are universal. Both generations use HP Integrated Lights-Out for remote management, and both support Cisco and Nortel branded switches. So, customers can leverage from their existing infrastructure when making the transition, as well as continue to exploit their investments in knowledge and training.