Three new HP NonStop servers and a new NonStop Modular I/O subsystem deliver better performance

October 1, 2004

HP is pleased to announce a series of new products that not only deliver tremendous price/performance improvements for the HP NonStop family of products, but also protect investments and position customers for the future with Intel® Itanium® microprocessor–based NonStop systems.

Three new NonStop servers are being offered, with an increase in performance of as much as 30 percent. A brand-new HP NonStop Modular I/O subsystem makes available the next-generation I/O building blocks of high-performance, highly available HP NonStop servers—providing not only enhanced I/O throughput but also flexible connection to HP’s high end StorageWorks family and a migration path to the future Itanium microprocessor–based NonStop servers. There is also a new NonStop M8800 multiport Ethernet adapter that can be configured with the NonStop Modular I/O subsystem to provide increased bandwidth and flexibility for Ethernet connectivity.

• New NonStop servers
  –  The HP NonStop S88000 server—the new flagship NonStop enterprise product delivers the highest level of availability along with a 30 percent performance boost
  –  The NonStop S78000 server—a high-end server with exceptional availability and enhanced performance
  –  The NonStop S780 server—a two-processor entry-level server
• NonStop Modular I/O subsystem
  –  Modular enclosure provides configuration flexibility, industry-standard racking, and industry-standard interfaces –  Allows HP ServerNet technology–based NonStop S-series systems to connect to HP enterprise storage systems, storage area networks (SANs), and Gigabit Ethernet networks
  –  Ready for Itanium technology
• NonStop M8800 multiport Ethernet adapter
  –  Provides four ports per adapter for high-density configurations at a lower cost per port
  –  Exceptional configuration flexibility
  –  Threefold performance increase over previous-generation adapters

Taken together, these new NonStop products offer significant and immediate price/performance improvements. All new NonStop servers and related products are available now.

The NonStop S88000 server, the new flagship enterprise product for the NonStop S-series family of servers, is ideal for mission-critical applications that require the highest levels of availability, scalability, and data integrity. This new server delivers 30 percent more performance than previous-generation servers (i.e., the NonStop S86000 server), thereby addressing increasing application growth requirements. The NonStop S88000 server can be configured with up to 16 gigabytes of memory and includes two lockstepped MIPS R16000 processors with 8 megabytes of L2 cache. A multifunction I/O board with a ServerNet router, three Ultra SCSI ports (two internal and one external), one 10Base-T controller, and one service processor are also included.

The NonStop S78000 server is designed for high-end applications that require exceptional availability and scalability. The NonStop S78000 server delivers 13 percent more performance than previous-generation servers (i.e., the NonStop S76000 server) and can be configured with up to 8 gigabytes of memory. Two lockstepped MIPS R14000 processors with 8 megabytes of L2 cache are included, along with the same extras included with the NonStop S88000 server: a multifunction I/O board with one ServerNet router, three Ultra SCSI ports, a 10Base-T controller, and a service processor.

The new NonStop S780 server is intended for entry-level applications that require high availability and data integrity. It is available in a two-processor configuration using the same MIPS R14000 processors as the NonStop S78000 server.

The HP NonStop Modular I/O enclosure and components provide the next-generation I/O building blocks for high-performance, highly available HP NonStop servers. This new I/O subsystem offers outstanding performance, configuration flexibility, industry-standard racking, and industry-standard interfaces. It allows you to connect NonStop servers to HP’s StorageWorks enterprise storage system and other future I/O peripherals. That means you can take advantage of HP's high-end storage system, the HP StorageWorks family.

The new M8800 multiport Ethernet adapter provides high bandwidth, high performance, and exceptional configuration flexibility for Ethernet connectivity, including Gigabit Ethernet. The M8800 adapter fits in one of the slots available in the new high-performance NonStop Modular I/O subsystem enclosure and offers enhanced TCP/IP support with up to 80,000 UDP/TCP connections per adapter—a more than threefold increase over the 3865 Gigabit Ethernet adapter.

This news is published on NonStop Computing websites. October 2004.