Technologies in HP ProLiant Gen8 c-Class server blades

Solid state drives

HP server solid state drives (SSD) were introduced in late 2008 for use in specific HP BladeSystem environments. SSDs

connect to the host system using the same protocols as disk drives, but they store and retrieve file data in flash memory

arrays rather than on spinning media. SSDs have much lower latencies than traditional hard drives. They also power up

quickly. They also achieve high random-read performance. HP SSDs provide a level of reliability equivalent to or slightly

greater than current HP Midline disk drives for servers.

Solid state memory (NAND) provides higher capacity, reliability, and performance for local, low-power boot drives than

USB keys provide. HP server SSD interfaces are compatible with traditional disk drives connected to a SATA (or SAS)

controller. This allows benchmarking and direct comparison of their external performance with that of disk drives to

determine their suitability in various application environments.

The HP Smart SSD Wear Gauge is a unique HP technology monitoring the lifespan of solid state drives. SSDs have a

limited write cycle lifetime and the HP Wear Gauge technology calculates how much life remains on your SSDs so you

can plan for their replacement ahead of time.

Management technologies

HP ProLiant Gen8 servers are built for the new infrastructure requirements driving today’s data centers. With a wide

range of embedded automation and intelligent management features, these are the world’s most self-sufficient

servers. Powered by the HP ProActive Insight Architecture, ProLiant Gen8 servers continuously analyze thousands of

system parameters to optimize application performance and proactively improve uptime.

The HP ProActive Insight architecture with Integrated Lifecycle Automation incorporates three major innovations to

simplify common tasks and keep systems running at peak performance:

 HP Intelligent Provisioning - A single tool for all ProLiant Gen8 server configuration tasks. We’ve embedded all the

firmware, drivers, and tools that you need to quickly get your systems online. This means no CDs or DVDs needed.

Simply press F10 to get started.

 Active Health System - Provides continuous health monitoring and 100 percent configuration change logging. This

unified diagnostic tool quickly assists in problem analysis with secure data transfer to the HP support team.

 Smart Update – A system maintenance tool with simplicity that systematically updates servers and blade

infrastructures at the scale of the data center. HP offers Smart Update which includes HP Smart Update Manager (HP

SUM) and HP Service Pack for ProLiant (SPP). These HP tools allow you to systematically update servers and blade

infrastructures within an hour. HP SUM and HP SPP support many previous-generation servers allowing you to rapidly

update mixed enclosures of old and newer servers at one time.

In every HP ProLiant Gen8 server, we integrate management and support software technologies into a seamless

experience across the server lifecycle:

 Server monitoring and management – HP BladeSystem Onboard Administrator and HP iLO Management Engine

 Power monitoring and management – HP Thermal Logic and HP Insight Control power management software

 Unified infrastructure management - HP Systems Insight Manager and HP Insight Control

 Firmware and system software management - Service Pack for ProLiant and HP Smart Update Manager 5.0

Server monitoring and management

We enhanced our server monitoring and management capabilities in ProLiant Gen8 server blades with new technologies

like HP Agentless Management, HP Active Health, and improved embedded HP Remote Support.

For more information about Solid state drive technology, refer to the HP technology brief titled “Solid state drive technology for ProLiant servers”

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01580706/c01580706.pdf