HP technologies slash cost of virtualised environments

HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 Ethernet, a direct connect storage bundle for HP BladeSystem, and the HP ProLiant DL385 G5p server are among the new HP’s offerings. The company makes the point that, while a growing number of firms are deploying server virtualisation to gain operational savings, the cost of networking continues to climb – for example, a typical server hosting virtual machines requires six network connections. HP’s new Virtual Connect Flex-10 Ethernet module is the industry’s first interconnect technology that can allocate the bandwidth of a 10Gb Ethernet network port across four network interface card (NIC) connections. And that increase in bandwidth flexibility is what eliminates the need for additional network hardware equipment, says HP. As a result, customers deploying virtual machines and utilising Virtual Connect Flex-10 can realize savings of up to 55% in network equipment costs. “Customers looking to eliminate the common obstacles of networking costs and bandwidth flexibility should look no further than HP,” comments Mark Potter, vice president and general manager, BladeSystem, HP. “These technologies break down the barriers of virtualised networks, giving customers the greatest return on their investments.”