HP Strengthens Industry-standard Offerings with New Servers and Storage; New Products Enable Customers to Reduce Costs While Simplifying Change.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2004

HP (NYSE:HPQ)(Nasdaq:HPQ) today expanded its portfolio of 64-bit servers and enhanced its storage solutions to further broaden customer choice in standards-based computing. Delivering solid performance and flexibility that allow customers to meet the changing demands of their businesses, the new offerings include:

-- HP Integrity servers based on Intel(R) Itanium 2(R)

processors;

-- an enhanced line of HP 9000 servers powered by new

PA-RISC-based PA-8800 processors;

-- HP StorageWorks tape libraries and pay-per-use capabilities;

and

-- the HP NonStop Advanced Architecture based on Intel Itanium 2

processors.

"Standardization is key to building an adaptive enterprise, in which business processes and IT are linked dynamically," said Mark Hudson, vice president marketing, Enterprise Storage and Servers, HP. "Today's storage and server announcements deliver on HP's commitment to provide focused innovation based on industry standards so customers can reduce IT and business costs while simplifying change."

HP 9000 servers: Greater flexibility to meet evolving business needs

HP has refreshed the HP 9000 product line with the next generation of PA-RISC processors - the PA-8800 dual processor module. These systems share common components with the Integrity server line, enabling smooth customer evolution to future platforms. They offer outstanding investment protection and performance as well as increased capacity and scalability.

-- Existing HP 9000 customers will be able to upgrade existing

PA-8700 based servers by replacing the processors with the

PA-8800 processors. This "in-box" upgrade capability helps

protect customers' capital investments. Further, HP customers

will be able to upgrade PA-8800 based systems to either Intel

Itanium 2-based HP Integrity servers or to the next PA-RISC

processor, the PA-8900, when it becomes available.

-- The industry's leading UNIX(R) operating environment, HP-UX 

11iv1, runs on both the PA-8700 and PA-8800 based servers. As

a result, customers aren't required to requalify applications

or infrastructure to take advantage of the new processor

technology. This level of investment protection is unrivaled

in the industry.

-- PA-8800 based servers deliver an up to 50 percent performance

increase over PA-8700 based servers with the same number of

processors. Moreover, when PA-8700 based servers are upgraded

with dual-module PA-8800 processors, customers gain twice the

central processing unit (CPU) count in the same system -

doubling capacity and enabling up to 2.5 times better

performance.

-- The new servers feature many of the same components as HP

Integrity systems, enabling a smooth evolution to

Itanium-based platforms. These components include cell boards,

cabinets, memory and the HP zx1 and sx1000 chipsets. At the

processor level, the PA-8800 processor features the Intel

Itanium system bus.

"HP has consistently provided reliable, scalable hardware, allowing us to optimize the performance of our mission-critical applications," said Scott Womer, manager, Systems Engineering, Atmos Energy Corporation. "With the PA-8800 line of servers, HP will provide a valuable platform for our needs today and a steppingstone to Integrity with in-box upgrades. HP enables companies like ours to handle planned and unexpected growth through increased flexibility. Teamwork is the defining link in all our experiences with HP."

In addition to the new 128-way HP 9000 Superdome server, the new HP 9000 PA-8800 based servers include the 32-way HP rp8420-32 server, the 16-way HP rp7420-16 server, the eight-way HP rp4440-8 server, the four-way HP rp3440-4 server and the two-way HP rp3410-2 server.

HP Integrity servers: Optimized for the enterprise

HP also introduced a new entry-level Integrity server, the HP rx1600, which provides enterprise capabilities at an estimated U.S. price of less than $3,000.(1) This 64-bit server is especially suited for clustered and scale-out environments running Linux or HP-UX in telecommunications, commercial database, Web services and high-performance technical computing environments. It features up to two Low Voltage Intel Itanium 2 processors and offers high density with a 1U design. This enables customers to deploy up to 40 servers per two-meter rack.

New models of the HP Integrity rx2600 servers, based on the Low Voltage Itanium processors, offer estimated U.S. entry prices below $5,700.(2) The rx2600 is ideal for customers who require two-CPU servers with higher memory and input/output capacity than entry-level servers. These servers also will be offered as nodes within HP XC6000 Linux clusters, which are scalable up to 512 nodes, for high-performance computing.

Supporting the new Integrity servers is a growing portfolio of software available with the HP-UX, Linux and Microsoft Windows(R) operating systems. More than 1,500 applications and tools from independent software vendors are currently available on the Integrity server line and HP expects that number to double by this summer.

Growing numbers of customers are choosing Integrity servers for their data centers, and to date more than one-third of Integrity Superdome servers have shipped with Microsoft Windows Server 2003.

"Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and HP Integrity server solutions have helped establish the Itanium architecture as the 64-bit platform for enterprise customers who require the highest levels of scalability," said Dennis Oldroyd, director, Windows Server Business Group, Microsoft Corp. "Customers trust their data centers to Windows on HP Integrity servers. In collaboration with HP, Microsoft is committed to delivering continued improvement in the scalability and performance customers need."

HP also announced the availability of the evaluation release of the Open VMS version 8.1 operating system for HP Integrity servers for software vendors and early adopters. This version will incorporate native compilers and tools as well as expanded functionality. OpenVMS is expected to be generally available for HP Integrity server customers later this year and adds to the current multi-operating system offerings on Integrity, including HP-UX, Linux and Windows Server 2003. To date, approximately 600 applications from more than 280 ISVs are committed to being ported to OpenVMS for Integrity servers.

Enhancing HP's Linux offerings, SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 8 is now available on the HP corporate price list for all one- to four-processor Integrity servers. HP now resells, markets and supports SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 8 for both HP ProLiant and Integrity servers.

As part of its overall fabric infrastructure strategy, HP will support InfiniBand switches and host channel adapters (HCAs) with Integrity servers running HP-UX. The InfiniBand capability is ideal for customers who want to deploy scalable clusters for technical and engineering applications. InfiniBand is expected to be available in April for high-performance technical solutions and in the fourth quarter of 2004 for highly available cluster solutions for commercial database applications.

HP StorageWorks: Standards-based building blocks bring modularity to SANs

HP introduced a pay-per-use financing program for the HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array family, including the EVA3000 and EVA5000. A foundational building block for storage area networks, the EVA family is built with modular storage components, enabling customers to scale capacity on demand. In addition, its virtualization technology is designed to dynamically reallocate storage resources to improve capacity utilization, simplify management and optimize floor space.

Pay-per-use financing in the EVA family uses metering technology to track capacity usage and enable customers to only pay for the capacity they use. This can help reduce cost and risk by providing flexible storage capacity for businesses with uncertain capacity requirements. Pay per use also offers consistency through a more predictable expense structure and eliminates initial capital costs associated with spikes in storage demand. Additionally, the utility pricing model speeds the deployment of increased capacity, reduces the need for complex customization and helps to lower total cost of ownership.

Designed for small- and medium-sized businesses and enterprise-class storage environments, the HP StorageWorks EVA3000 and EVA5000 systems can hold up to 24 and 35 terabytes of data, respectively, on one machine. Previously available on the HP StorageWorks Disk Array XP series for large enterprise customers, pay per use for the EVA family enables businesses with smaller IT budgets to take advantage of the reduced costs and risk associated with utility pricing programs.

HP also introduced the HP StorageWorks ESL E-series tape libraries in both LTO Ultrium 460 and SDLT 320 industry-standard drive formats. The HP StorageWorks ESL712e and ESL630e enterprise tape automation systems are self-aware tape solutions designed specifically for use in SAN environments.

In addition to using reusable components, the ESL712e and ESL630e libraries offer customers the ability to modularly scale their storage capacity with additional tape cartridges, and to scale performance of tape storage read-write functions with additional Ultrium 460 and SDLT 320 tape drives. This modularity is achieved while reusing the intelligent management features of the E-series tape libraries.

The E-series libraries feature improved storage density within a single, smaller library design increasing total capacity to 14.2 terabytes per square foot compared to 9.5 terabytes per square foot on the existing platform. In addition, when integrated with the HP Extended Tape Library Architecture, customers can benefit from the ability to manage more storage in less floor space with fewer IT resources.

Estimated U.S. pricing for the HP StorageWorks ESL E-series tape libraries begins at $132,000 with expected availability in March.(3) The tape libraries are expected to be available with native fibre drive options later this year.

HP NonStop Advanced Architecture: Optimized to bring flexibility to 24 x 7 availability

HP unveiled the NonStop Advanced Architecture, which will use industry standards within a fault-tolerant environment. The new architecture will be based on the industry-standard Itanium processor and supports industry-standard storage, offering higher performance at a better total cost of ownership.

Managed by HP OpenView software, the NonStop Advanced Architecture is the only announced platform that will deliver constant availability and scalability using industry standards and support for industry-standard storage.

Itanium-based servers with this architecture are expected to be available from HP early next year and will deliver the same scalability available today - up to 1,024 processors in a cluster and up to 4,080 processors in a wide-area network - along with the added power and flexibility of standardization.

More detailed information about all the offerings mentioned above is available in an online press kit at www.hp.com/go/standardization/presskit.

Availability and pricing(3)

HP Integrity rx1600 expected to be available in March from $2,800 U.S. list - includes one 1.0-GHz Low Voltage Itanium 2 processor, 512 MB memory and one 36 GB disk.

HP Integrity rx2600 available now from $5,700 U.S. list - includes one 1.0- GHz Low Voltage Itanium 2 processor, 1 GB memory, and one 36 GB disk.

HP 9000 Superdome expected to be available March from $309,000 U.S. list - includes four PA-8800 processors, 4 GB memory, chassis, cell boards and I/O.

HP 9000 rp8420-32 available now from $93,000 U.S. list - includes two PA-8800 processors, 2 GB memory, chassis, cell boards and I/O.

HP 9000 rp7420-16 available now from $40,000 U.S. list - includes two PA-8800 processors, 2 GB memory, chassis, cell boards and I/O.

HP 9000 rp4440-8 available now from $21,000 U.S. list - includes two PA-8800 processors, 1 GB memory, and one 36 GB disk.

HP 9000 rp3440-4 available now from $7,000 U.S. list - includes two PA-8800 processors, 1 GB memory, and one 36 GB disk.

HP 9000 rp3410-2 available now from $4,000 U.S. list - includes two PA-8800 processors, 1 GB memory, and one 36 GB disk.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. For the fiscal year ending on Oct. 31, 2003, HP revenue totaled $73.1 billion. More information about HP is available at www.hp.com.

(1) HP Integrity rx1600 U.S. list price of $2,800 - includes one 1.0-GHz low voltage Itanium 2 processor, 512 MB RAM, and one 36 GB hard drive.

(2) HP Integrity rx2600 U.S. list price of $5,614 - includes one 1.0-GHz low voltage Itanium 2 processor, 1 GB RAM, and one 36 GB hard drive.

(3) Actual prices may vary.

Intel and Itanium are registered trademarks of Intel Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of the Open Group. Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that the market for the sale of certain products and services may not develop as expected; that development and performance of these products and services may not proceed as planned; and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2003, and reports filed after the form 10-K. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.