HP Extends ASP Solution to NT, Linux
HP has extended its turnkey ASP solution, called e-utilica, to embrace Windows NT and Linux as well as HP-UX. The HP-UX-based e-utilica was introduced last June to the technical computing market.
Consisting of both hardware and software, e-utilica is designed for service providers that host applications or provide compute capacity services. The solution allows users behind a corporate firewall to tap into applications or computing services offered by an ASP. HP's e-utilica is based on the company's scalable Internet capacity architecture (SICA). This architecture allows users to meet ad hoc resource requirements by directly and dynamically apportioning capacity, and to transit and store confidential data through a secure compute resource allocator. It also enables the delivery of e-services via the Internet, rather than a VPN (virtual private network), to extend the corporate firewall.
Duane Zitzner, president of HP Computing Systems, lauded e-utilica as representing "a fundamental shift to the new outsourced IT model."
Jim Gutowski, vice president and general manager of Cohere Networks' Discrete Manufacturing and Engineering Division, called e-utilica a "heavy-duty platform for technical computing." Englewood, Colo.-based Cohere Networks uses e-utilica to host applications for ISVs and to run engineering analysis applications for its manufacturing customers.
HP e-utilica, priced starting at $500,000, includes an administration rack and multiple compute racks (4 to 20) in a 2-meter form factor. The administration rack connects the compute power to the Internet, delivering security, management, and VPN administration. The compute racks, available in models for HP-UX, NT, and Linux, accommodate up to 20 compute systems. The e-utilica HP-UX compute systems are based on dual PA-8600 processors running at 552 MHz. Windows NT- and Linux-based e-utilica compute systems are based on Pentium III processors running at 850 MHz.
The HP-UX version of e-utilica is available now. The NT and Linux versions are scheduled for availability November 1.