HP Enhances Blade PC Solution to Deliver True Desktop Experience for Business Customers

HP today introduced its third generation Consolidated Client Infrastructure (CCI) solution, which enables businesses to deploy blade PCs to their full range of traditional desktop users while delivering a true PC experience.

The CCI solution now includes new HP BladeSystem bc2000 and bc2500 blade PCs and HP Remote Graphics software to provide greater processing power and performance, improved graphics and streaming video to users with network connectivity and an HP thin client or other access device.

HP also introduced PC Session Allocation Manager 2.0, which includes PC “hot desk” access that allows users to securely and easily change work locations. Allocation Manager 2.0 intelligently converts from single- to dual-monitor environments without user intervention and supports HP’s Remote Graphics software for an improved multimedia experience. It also features “plug and play” blade PC self-registration functionality for quick and easy deployment, as well as built-in tools that help IT staff manage blade PC utilization to ensure maximum user productivity.

“A flexible IT strategy is key to managing the variety of workplace paradigms in place today – dispersed workforces, telecommuting, outsourcing and offshoring – in addition to the security and compliance issues corporations now face,” said Kevin Frost, vice president, Business PCs, HP. “The HP CCI solution helps address these issues by improving business continuity and security, dramatically lowering operational support costs, and increasing agility by allowing IT staff to focus on growth opportunities, not technology problems.”

In the HP Consolidated Client Infrastructure solution, the central processing unit, memory and hard disks that are typically found in a desktop PC are split across blade PCs and redundant storage devices in a highly secure, centralized data center. Users are networked to these resources across standard LAN or WAN connections from virtually any location via a simple access device, such as an HP thin client.

CCI is part of HP’s portfolio of Remote Client Solutions, which includes traditional HP thin client/server-based computing, HP Virtual Desktop Infrastructure running on HP ProLiant and BladeSystem servers, and HP Blade Workstations. Based on common systems management, allocation management, protocol and access device infrastructure, the portfolio allows IT customers to meet the needs of a highly varied workforce.

Easy to size and budget for large user groups

CCI is designed for the largest groups of end users: basic productivity and knowledge workers. It provides them with a complete, personalized, predictable desktop experience by allocating a one-to-one connection to a blade PC. The solution additionally offers dedicated compute resources to eliminate performance variances of shared environments and ensures each end-user has the memory and processing power he or she needs.

Blade PCs also streamline capacity planning and eliminate the risk of underestimating the investment required to deploy remote client solutions. A dedicated HP blade PC architecture follows normal desktop economics with per-seat costs that make large deployments possible, with sizing and budgeting as simple as determining the number of users requiring simultaneous PC access.

With the HP CCI solution, IT tasks such as application upgrades, new application deployments, operating system migrations and security updates can be accomplished without undue risk to existing hardware and budgetary plans. The solution can also reduce power consumption by using highly power-efficient blade PCs in the data center and low-wattage thin clients desk-side.

Easy in the data center

HP blade PCs are designed to simplify PC provisioning and updates while leveraging standard data center management tools and operational procedures. The new HP blade PCs maximize data center floor space while minimizing power consumption by providing desktop performance with the highest rack density (280 blades in an industry-standard 42U rack) at the industry’s lowest power rate of any blade PC (as low as approximately 7 kilowatts per 280 blades).

CCI also allows IT to enforce best practices worldwide by managing all client computing from a central console for easier image management, virus protection and resource allocation while leveraging the same server management tools that are familiar to IT staff.

“As one of the leading electronic discovery service providers, Fios requires scalable, predictable and reliable systems to support the processing, preservation and production of our clients’ evidence. HP’s blade PCs deliver great form factor and efficient power consumption,” said Tho Han, IT director, Fios Inc., a Portland, Ore.-based provider of electronic discovery services to the country’s largest corporations and law firms. “The integration, deployment and manageability of these systems are easy and enable us to quickly meet the ever-increasing demands of our client’s case loads.”

Pricing and availability

The HP BladeSystem bc2000 Blade PC starts at $1,000 per bc2000 blade (when purchased in a 10 pack)(1) featuring a single-core AMD Athlon™ 64 2100+ processor, 80 gigabyte (GB) SATA hard drive(2) and 1 GB of DDR2 memory.(3)

The HP BladeSystem bc2500 high-performance blade PC starts at $1,500 when purchased in a 10 pack(1) featuring an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3000+ dual-core processor,(4) 80 GB SATA hard drive(2) and 1 GB DDR 2 memory.(3)

“AMD and HP are committed to providing customers with innovative technology solutions, such as CCI, that provide outstanding total cost of ownership,” said Bob Brewer, corporate vice president and general manager, Desktop Division, AMD. “Powered by energy-efficient AMD Athlon processors, these new blade PC offerings will help provide customers with increased power efficiency and high performance.”

Both new blade PCs come with Microsoft Windows® Vista™ Business edition(5) and are available with the choice of either HP Remote Graphics Software 5.0 or Microsoft RDP 6.0, which both support dual-monitor functionality for even more advanced graphic capabilities. They also include the HP ProtectTools Trusted Platform Module 2.0 embedded security chip for added data security.

More information about the HP Consolidated Client Infrastructure solution is available at www.hp.com/go/cci.