Last year, HP introduced a new blade platform for the telecom industry. Based on a proven, commercial server, it was re-designed to meet all carrier-grade requirements. And it certainly stimulated discussion about the future role of ATCA-based servers.

Now, HP is set to announce a new hardware platform ... one that will help operators enjoy the benefits of standards-based, commercial platforms - without sacrificing the reliability and performance they need. With the news, HP will be able to claim that it is the only company able to offer the industry a full choice of blade, conventional tower, and rack-mount.

With dual expertise in both telecom and IT, HP is delivering the best of both worlds, and our June 17 announcement leverages those unique strengths to provide operators of wireless, wired or broadband networks a flexible, low-cost foundation for advanced Internet Protocol (IP) technologies, including IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)-based networks.

HP Expands Telecom Server Line to Give Customers Broader Choice of High-performance, Low-cost Platforms

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 17, 2008 - HP today expanded its portfolio of servers for the telecommunications industry, giving service providers the flexibility to reduce their costs with either a blade or rack-mount platform.

The company introduced the HP ProLiant DL385 G5 CG (Carrier Grade) Server, a rack-mount platform that will help service providers reduce capital and operating costs - without sacrificing reliability and performance. The company also upgraded the HP BladeSystem CG Platform with a new expansion blade that extends capability for the I/O (input/output) applications service providers need most. Additional upgrades include memory, storage and switching options.
Both of the HP server platforms support telephony and IT applications, an advantage that is increasingly valuable to service providers as their telecom and enterprise environments converge.

"For network critical applications, telecom companies can now reduce costs with either rack-mount or blade servers from HP," said Stephen Low, director, Telecom Platforms, Business Critical Servers, HP. "With expertise in telecom and IT, HP is delivering the best of both worlds: industry-standard, commercial platforms that meet carrier-grade requirements with market-leading reliability and performance."

For telephony networks, both the HP ProLiant DL385 G5 CG Server and the HP BladeSystem CG Platform are optimized for deployment in wireless, wired or broadband networks. They enable service providers and network equipment suppliers to create a flexible, low-cost foundation for advanced Internet Protocol (IP) technologies.

Example applications include: Intelligent Network elements, IMS, soft switches, service delivery platforms, security systems, media servers and gateways, signaling gateways, digital television (IPTV) platforms, messaging (SMS, or texting), and business and operational support systems.

"HP has extended the reach of the world's most successful blade servers into the heart of the telecommunications network," said Indu Kodukula, vice president, Oracle. "With the HP Carrier Grade BladeSystem, we can deliver better price, performance and scalability, and help communications service providers create new IP-based communication services that are very cost-effective and scalable."

The HP ProLiant DL385 G5 CG Server is expected to be available worldwide in August at a list price comparable to the equivalent commercial HP ProLiant server.(1) The new features in the HP BladeSystem CG Platform will be available later this month.

HP ProLiant CG Server: COTS advantages with NEBS compliance
The HP ProLiant DL385 G5 CG Server is based on its enterprise counterpart, the HP ProLiant DL380, one of the IT industry's most successful commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) platforms. HP has boosted the server's performance by including more powerful AMD processors, faster memory and better power management capabilities.

The HP ProLiant DL385 G5 CG Server also meets specific telecom requirements. It has Network Equipment-Building System (NEBS) Level 3 rack certification. NEBS is a telecom industry standard that ensures hardware platforms meet high levels of reliability in specifications for temperature, humidity, fire, earthquake resistance (seismic rack), handling, airborne contaminants and acoustics.

The server's power supply is NEBS compliant - accommodating 36-volt to 72-volt direct current for central office applications.

The HP ProLiant DL385 G5 CG Server supports the leading carrier-grade Linux specifications and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.x. It also supports other operating systems including Windows®, Novell SUSE, Citrix and VMware.

More information on the HP ProLiant DL385 G5 Carrier Grade Server is available at www.hp.com/go/ProLiant/carriergrade.

HP BladeSystem CG Platform: lower costs and more flexibility
Introduced in late 2007, the HP BladeSystem CG Platform's enclosure and blades have since been enhanced for power efficiency, flexibility and reliability. Specific additions are:

• Certified to European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards. ETSI is a telecom industry standard similar to NEBS. The HP BladeSystem CG Platform is also certified for NEBS Level 3 requirements, including those for power supply.
• New HP Advanced Mezzanine Carrier (AMC) expansion blade to provide three AMC slots. The expansion blade enables the server to handle telecom-specific input/output (I/O) workloads using standard third-party AMCs.
• New 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) and 10 Gbps Layer 2/Layer 3 Ethernet switches to complement the current offering of Virtual Connect, providing customers with a high-throughput switched interconnect between blades and external networks.
• Expanded storage and memory capacity in the HP BladeSystem BL460c CG server blade. To accommodate high-performance applications, hard disk drive storage capacity can be expanded to two 146-gigabyte (GB) drives and random access memory can scale up to 32 GB.
• Support for carrier-grade Linux operating system, RHEL 5.x. and other Linux distributions on a case-by-case basis.

More information on the HP BladeSystem Carrier Grade Platform is available at www.hp.com/go/bladesystem/carriergrade.

About HP
HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers - from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world's largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $110.4 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2008. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.