HP offers a vast range of ProLiant servers for use with each Linux distribution it supports. The HP ProLiant product line gives you a wide selection of servers and configurations to select from to ensure your hardware and software purchases are the right ones for you. With HP's experience in providing Linux solutions, you can be sure your investment will help you grow your business through technology.
Note: In 2007, HP shipped a ProLiant server running Linux every minute of every day throughout the year.
Exploring HP hardware that works with Linux
There are generally three types of servers currently available in HP's product line: the ML tower-based server, the DL rack-mountable server and the BL line that includes the HP BladeSystem:
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ML tower-based server: If space is not an issue or you haven't yet built a dedicated server room, consider this tower server. It provides plenty of processing power for small and medium-size businesses (SMBs), is easily expandable and comes with a wide range of Intel and AMD processors, including quad-core Intel Xeon processors.
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DL rack-mountable server: This is a traditional rack-mounted server offering power within a smaller form factor. If you have an existing investment in rack-mounted technology, you can integrate new DL servers running Linux into your server room. The DL range includes AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon processors, including the latest Xeon quad-core processors.
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HP BladeSystem: Geared toward the mid-size company, the HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure contains up to eight server and storage blades in a 6U space. This system comes in tower or rack-mountable models, and is ideal for companies with three to 100 servers or in remote locations. If you need a lot of raw processing power in a small space, you should consider an HP BladeSystem.
Hardware certification is an important consideration when selecting a server. Some businesses select no-name, "white box" servers that are initially inexpensive. However, because the servers aren't certified for Red Hat Enterprise Linux or SUSE, those businesses can quickly run into problems when they encounter a hardware-related error. By selecting a server certified for Red Hat Enterprise Linux or SUSE, you can be sure your hardware is 100-percent compatible with the software you select, and that the two were designed to work together closely.
Discovering server management tools
HP goes beyond hardware to give you the best possible experience when using and administering servers. With a comprehensive list of extras, HP offers help at three key points:
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Deployment
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Monitoring
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Maintenance
Deployment
HP provides a SmartStart scripting toolkit with all ProLiant servers, enabling you to benefit from HP's expertise in building new servers. These scripts take a lot of the pain out of developing automatic server builds, and provide a useful toolkit to build upon.
Monitoring
HP offers several monitoring tools:
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HP Systems Insight Manager (SIM): Enables you to easily manage and monitor your servers, regardless of the operating systems deployed. You can also keep a close eye on storage, ensuring that your infrastructure is working at peak efficiency and avoiding potential problems.
Note: On top of HP SIM is the Systems Management Homepage, which aggregates information from all your servers—regardless of operating system—into one web page. This gives you quick access to top-level information with the ability to drill down for details. You're also able to keep a close eye on pre-set levels to act proactively as storage or processing power begin running low.
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Integrated Lights-Out 2 (iLO2): Built into specific HP ProLiant DL and BladeSystem servers, iLO2 provides remote control management through a web-based interface.
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Performance Management Pack: Provides a suite of integrated tools that let you investigate the performance of your servers. Whether you're running a general health check or investigating the location of a bottleneck, you can get detailed information that helps you pin-point any problems that exist within your server environment.
Maintenance
Online ROM flash enables you to benefit from new updates to a server's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) without having to power cycle the server, minimizing any downtime for your users.
In addition, the impact on the environment may figure significantly in deciding which server solution to select. HP developed HP Dynamic Power and Cooling, an interface that interacts with the facilities that house servers, ensuring that your servers provide maximum processing efficiency at times when it's required and minimizing the power output when it's not.
One tool for Linux-centric environments
In environments running only Linux systems, you can use HP Insight Control Linux Edition (ICLE) software. This management application enables you to discover systems on the network, effortlessly install and deploy software, configure systems, monitor events and receive email alerts, schedule changes and more. HP ICLE gives you total control over your Linux investment.
How virtualization makes good business sense
Virtualization lets you run multiple, separate operating systems and their applications on a single physical server (the host). For example, you can run different versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux simultaneously, or run a third-party operating system like Windows along with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. All virtual servers can be made readily available on the network to clients (guests), just as if they were standard, physical servers.
Virtualization technology lets you reduce hardware costs through consolidation, and decrease power and cooling requirements in larger environments. In addition, you can create a sandbox in which you test new software deployments and system updates without affecting users on the production network.
Red Hat and Novell have embraced virtualization by integrating Xen into Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and SUSE Linux Enterprise. Depending on your subscription, you can deploy a number of virtual servers on your standard server, giving you even more value for your money. Other virtualization solutions to consider are VMware and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2, both of which accommodate Linux systems.
Bolting on storage
If your storage requirements are complex, HP has a complementary range of storage products under the HP StorageWorks banner that enable you to increase your storage in a cost-effective way. From stand-alone units to network attached storage that works seamlessly with your current infrastructure, you can safely manage your storage systems using some of the same tools used for server management. In addition, HP provides a configuration utility for Linux that enables you to configure and expand your HP disk arrays when required.
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