Hewlett-Packard Co this week introduces a new series of point products in the low to mid-range commercial Unix server market, which come in below its K-Class technical servers. The five D-Class models, which use the Cupertino company’s 960Mbps runway bus, will be offered as lead products in the slot in the product line currently occupied by the older, entry-level PA-7100LC-based E-Class and mid-range 7100-based G, H and I servers, all running HP-UX 10.0.1. They’re targeted at database, the Internet and Intranet market, network and systems management and messaging server application markets. At the high end of the new range is the two-way 100MHz PA-7200-based Model 350 which performs 2,280 tpmC – $204 per tpmC – at 64.5 SPECrate_int95 and 97.4 SPECrate_fp95. Hewlett-Packard puts this up against a Compaq Computer Corp Proliant 4500 quad running Windows NT at 2,454 tpmC or $242 per tpmC. With 128Mb RAM and 1Gb disk the D350 is priced at from $30,140. It can accommodate up to 768Mb main memory (1.3Gb from next quarter), 5Tb disk, eight EISA/HP-HSC High-speed System Connection input-output slots and five SCSI-2 bays. The uniprocessor version costs from $16,900 with 32Mb memory and 1Gb disk and does 3.61 SPECint95 and 6.12 SPECfp95. The Model D310 has a single 100MHz 7100LC and is priced from $13,600 with 32Mb main memory and 1Gb disk. It is rated at 2.94 SPECint95 and 3.7 SPECfp95. It supports up to 512Mb main memory, 3.8Tb disk, eight EISA/HP-HSC input-output slots and two SCSI-2 bays. The Model D250 has one or two 100MHz 7200s, up to 768Mb memory, 5Tb disk, five EISA/HP-HSC input-output slots and two SCSI-2 bays. With 128Mb memory and 1Gb disk it costs from $27,600, or $14,350 with 32Mb memory and 1Gb disks as a uniprocessor. The 100MHz 7100LC Model D210 uniprocessor costs from $11,050 with 32Mb memory and 1Gb disk. It can accommodate up to 512Mb memory, 5Tb disk, five EISA/HP-HSC input-output slots and 2 SCSI bays. The Model D200, a 75MHz 7100LC uniprocessor is rated at 2.1 SPECint95 and 2.9 SPECfp95 and costs from $8,050 with 32Mb memory and 1Gb disk. It can be configured with up to 512Mb memory, 5Tb disk, five EISA/HP-HSC slots and 2 SCSI-2 bays. Two-dimensional colour graphics is available only on the Model D350. The D-Class models can be upgraded to other configurations in the series and to the forthcoming PA-7300 with on-board cache, or the 64-bit PA-8000 due next quarter. It comes in a new tower cabinet which means Hewlett has five different packages across the E, D, G/H/I, K and T class servers. It decided against reviving the now-defunct F-Class product name for the new models, even though they come in above the E-Class. UK pricing for the new D-Class models ranges from ú6,500 to ú26,316.
