Hear it from us not the competition

What's the buzz about IBM BladeCenter vs. HP?

With the release of IBM's latest blade chassis, IBM® BladeCenter™ H, the benefits of replacing HP with IBM's leading products are more obvious than ever. BladeCenter H can deliver data at lightning-fast speeds-more than 40 Gigabits per second to each blade. It's a level of performance that enables next-generation computing in areas like business intelligence and transaction analysis. Of course, BladeCenter H is compatible with existing IBM blades and switches, which protects customers' investments in IBM blade technology.

Speed, flexibility and ongoing support for existing and future solutions and hardware-it's a combination HP cannot match. For more detail, read the following Q&A:

Q: BladeCenter H is fast, but I don't need that level of performance across the board. Can I mix and match BladeCenter products?
Q: HP claims that IBM launched BladeCenter H in response to power and cooling issues with current BladeCenter chassis. Is this true?
Q: How many previous changes has HP made since delivering their blade offering?
Q: What's the buzz about BladeCenter versus rival offerings from HP?

Q: BladeCenter H is fast, but I don't need that level of performance across the board. Can I mix and match BladeCenter products?

A: IBM offers three kinds of blade chassis to meet a wide range of customer needs: BladeCenter for high-density work, BladeCenter H for high-performance jobs and BladeCenter T for operability under more rugged environmental conditions.

All three are compatible with the same set of blades and switches, and this interoperability enables customers to choose a combination of BladeCenter products that best meets their needs.

We're hearing from customers that HP's newest chassis lacks such interoperability, which means that customers with today's pClass chassis may be stranded on an island of antiquated IT unless they abandon their current investment and move to HP's new architecture.

Summary: IBM is committed to protecting customers' investments in BladeCenter products. For example, the same BladeCenter chassis that was made available in 2002 is compatible with the newest blades available today. The continuity and continued focus on the same form factor mean less churn for our customers when new technologies arise. Unlike the competition, IBM does not force change on our customers to maintain compatibility.

Q: HP claims that IBM launched BladeCenter H in response to power and cooling issues with current BladeCenter chassis. Is this true?

A: IBM launched BladeCenter H to address the emergence of high-speed protocols such as 10Gb Ethernet and 4X InfiniBand-not in response to any problem. In fact, an IBM BladeCenter can require between 22 percent and 37 percent less power and cooling than a similarly configured HP BladeSystem solution.

This example is based on published power usage data available from both companies. The IBM LS20 BladeCenter with 2x2.4GHz Dual-Core processors, 8GB of memory, 2 36GB SCSI HDDs, dual Ethernet and dual Fibre Channel can use up to 37 percent less power than the HP BL25p with 2.4GHz dual-core processors, 8GB of memory, 2 36GB SCSI HDDs, dual Ethernet and dual Fibre Channel, according to an analysis performed on April 10, 2006.

In addition, BladeCenter H offers some nice power-related features, including easy-to-service power supplies as well as new blowers that are AC powered.

Summary: BladeCenter H is about improved performance, pure and simple.

Q: How many previous changes has HP made since delivering their blade offering?

A: The pClass offering is HP's third generation of blades. And now, this platform reportedly is in the process of being replaced by the cClass. This upgrade would be good news for HP users, if not for the fact that the cClass is a complete break from pClass infrastructure. This means that clients who wish to move to the latest HP technology must replace their blades, switches and even their power. In contrast, upgrading from BladeCenter to BladeCenter H or new blades and switches is seamless.

Summary: Migrate to IBM's BladeCenter, and leave your upgrade troubles behind.

Q: What's the buzz about BladeCenter versus rival offerings from HP?

A: According to Ideas International, a Rye Brook, N.Y.-based research firm specializing in benchmarking, "IBM's BladeCenter has been warmly received by customers compared to competitor offerings... The BladeCenter is clearly a strategic product for IBM...and IBM has gained an early lead with its product positioning, aggressive packaging and strong partnerships."

Pund-IT, a Concord, Mass.-based consulting and research firm, adds, "If IBM's original blade products stretched the notion of server density and integration to new extremes, the company's new BladeCenter H solutions promise to take the concept of blade performance to new heights. Like the original, BladeCenter H delivers impressive new features across the board, not just via latest/greatest processor technologies."

Summary: BladeCenter H has a three-and-a-half-year head start on any competing new HP products.