HP has positioned itself to provide a new type of data centre with the unveiling of its HP Moonshot system server, the second generation built from chips more commonly found in smartphones and tablets.
The company claims that the Moonshot, which is scheduled for release in the second half of the year, requires an eight of the space required by traditional servers, and can reduce energy consumption by up to 89% and running costs by up to 77%.
The HP Moonshot system consists of the HP Moonshot 1500 enclosure and application-optimised HP ProLiant Moonshot servers. They can use processors from a choice of HP partners, each targeting a specific workload.
Each chassis shares traditional components, including HP Integrated Lights-Out management, power supply and cooling fans.
The first HP ProLiant Moonshot server is available with the Intel Atom S1200 processor and supports web hosting workloads. HP Moonshot 1500, a 4.3u server enclosure, is equipped with 45 Intel based servers, one network switch and supporting components.
"With nearly 10 billion devices connected to the internet and predictions for exponential growth, we've reached a point where the space, power and cost demands of traditional technology are no longer sustainable," said Meg Whitman, President and CEO, HP. "HP Moonshot marks the beginning of a new style of IT that will change the infrastructure economics and lay the foundation for the next 20 billion devices."
