HP Steps Up Software and Services: Page 2 of 2

• A new Openview Storage Area Manager software suite to help manage multivendor storage environments.
• HP Omniback II 4.1, an "instant recovery" software module for HP's Openview management framework. This is data protection software for copying information to one or more tape libraries. A terabyte per hour is the rule of thumb for recovering data -- but HP says it has been able to improve this “significantly” by moving just the changed blocks between the production copy and the backup copy.
• HP Zero Downtime Backup hardware and software, now extended to support HP Surestore Virtual Arrays. Previously, this series only supported HP’s high-end XP arrays and EMC Corp.'s (NYSE: EMC) Symmetrix units. This new version provides enterprise features to the mid-range market, company officials said.
• A series of storage networking devices and switches, including the HP Surestore Fibre Channel 1- and 2-Gbit/s Switch, a new HP Surestore Tape Autoloader, and enhancements to HP Surestore Virtual Arrays 7100 and 7400.

HP's also unveiled a new pricing model called HP Pay Per Use (PPU), whereby payments are made on a gigabyte-per-month basis and customers pay only for the storage they use. Available for the HP Surestore XP Disk and Virtual Array families, HP PPU utility pricing also works with HP OpenView Storage Accountant software, which tracks storage for financial analysis, budgeting, and chargeback.

Analysts agree that these upgrades and services are an important step by HP towards easing the process of managing storage -- particularly since they support multivendor storage networks. But the same analysts warn that many customers may wait to see if the merger with Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE: CPQ) goes ahead and what the outcome of this will be, before they place any big bets on HP (see Compaq/HP Hairball).

— Jo Maitland, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch
http://www.byteandswitch.com