hp unix box recommendation

[Michael Murphy_2]

Folks - we are upgradeing from some older nclass boxes and we are getting recommendation from our architecture dept that HP does not have any smaller (cheaper) machines that support hardware partitioning - they are recommending Sun/IBM - is there a model and pricerange that you are aware of that supports the partitioning that could be used for seperation of dev/test/prod on one platform? Thanks

[Patrick Wallek · Accepted solution]

I believe the rx7640 is the "smallest" server that is an NPAR, hardware partitioning, capable server.

Check the "Mid-range servers" area for the rx7640.
http://h20341.www2.hp.com/integrity/cache/332341-0-0-0-121.html

Other integrity servers would support Integrity Virtual Machines (IVM) though, but if you need prod/deve/test on separate "hardware", IVM may not be a good fit.

Now, depending on the needs of your application, multiple smaller servers might work (rx2660, rx3600, or rx6600) and **may** be cheaper that a single larger NPAR capable server.

Check out the "Entry-class servers" here:
http://h20341.www2.hp.com/integrity/cache/332341-0-0-0-121.html

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom Michael,

It should be noted that all current rx class servers do support Virtual machines.

I would say you might be better off with actual machines to support dev/test/prod

rx3600 are very affordable, powerful and might be able to handle this task very well.

SEP

[Tingli]

Or, try the blade.

[Olivier Masse]

If you do not want to run in Virtual Machines, it might be cheaper to buy low-end Integrity servers or blades rather than a rx7640 which is the smallest one which can be nPar'ed or vPar'ed. Also try to make an upfront purchase for your maintenance contract, as the price can vary a lot depending on the server range; it will be easier to compare to TCO of your equipment. I you absolutely need hardware partitioning and cost is an issue, then of course it might be a good idea to look what others can offer.

I like vPars, as I get lots of flexibility to be able to reconfigure server capacity, while still being on real hardware. Integrity Virtual Machines are reliable, I have a bunch of them for dev and test, but personally, I still prefer using the real thing for mission critical or performance-bound apps.