PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2006--HP (NYSE:HPQ)(Nasdaq:HPQ) today unveiled technology that can slash data center energy bills while increasing system reliability.

Designed to support HP's broad portfolio of enterprise servers and storage systems, the new power management and cooling technologies include:

- a modular cooling system that uses chilled water to triple the standard cooling capacity of a single server rack;

- a universal rack that standardizes efficiencies across all HP server and storage platforms; and

- a power distribution unit management module that monitors data center environments to provide customers with a more reliable power infrastructure.

Managing power, cooling and associated costs is an ever-growing challenge for IT departments of any size. Analyst firm IDC estimates that it would cost almost $400,000 annually to power a 1,000 volume server-unit data center.(1) In the last 10 years, server power densities have increased tenfold; this year 15-kilowatt racks have hit the market.

HP's new solutions can deliver significant cost savings by dramatically reducing energy use and increasing data center utilization. At the same time, the technologies help prepare customers for future generations of increasingly powerful, and energy thirsty, IT systems.

"HP's power and cooling technologies are helping customers win the war on heat," said Paul Perez, vice president, storage, networking and infrastructure, Industry Standard Servers, HP. "In combination with HP's best practices to optimize data center operations, these solutions offer customers high-density IT resources that improve overall cost, performance and reliability."

HP's power and cooling technologies - which address the processor all the way to the data center - support the HP ProLiant, BladeSystem, Integrity, Integrity NonStop and HP 9000 server families as well as HP StorageWorks MSA, EVA and XP arrays.

"HP's unique power and cooling approach has helped us better scale our infrastructure and manage our utility costs," said Mitchell Cipriano, vice president, marketing, OpSource, Inc. "We use upwards of 700 HP BladeSystem servers in our two data centers, so having an intelligent, energy-efficient infrastructure allows us to power more servers and network switches than with conventional discrete systems. HP BladeSystem servers, coupled with HP Systems Insight Manager, are instrumental in lowering our IT costs and making OpSource more efficient and price competitive in the software as a service market."

The new power and cooling offerings include:

- HP Modular Cooling System - a self-cooled rack for high-density deployments in data centers. The system, which attaches to a standard HP 10000 G2 Series rack, uses any data center's chilled water supply and distributes cool air consistently across the entire front of the rack. Furthermore, the Modular Cooling System allows for the deployment of up to 30 kilowatts in a single rack - three times the amount of energy that a standard server rack can handle - allowing for unprecedented server consolidation and long-lasting investment protection.

- HP 10000 G2 Series Rack - a standard, unified rack that accommodates all HP rack-mounted server and storage products. The rack enables simpler, faster data center deployments and a significant return on investment as it standardizes from seven previously incompatible HP racks to a single rack and power platform. To address cooling, the rack's innovative design provides efficient convection cooling and improved ventilation over previous racks.

- HP Power Distribution Unit Management Module - a power monitoring tool that provides remote monitoring of a rack PDU to eliminate the possibility of an overloaded circuit. The module offers centralized, standard SNMP control of all individual power distribution units via HP Systems Insight Manager and other software.

These products join a power and cooling portfolio that includes innovations in enterprise processors and chipsets, power supplies, power monitoring and throttling capabilities, data center services and HP's Smart Cooling program. HP deployed its Smart Cooling technology in its HP Labs Palo Alto data center in 2003 and has been realizing annual power savings of 25 percent.

Additionally, HP offers a range of fixed price and custom- tailored assessment and site planning services to help customers evaluate their power and cooling environments and understand how to use resources more efficiently. Services for data centers include the HP Data Center Assessment Service, HP Data Center Thermal Assessment Service, and HP Data Center Site Planning Service. HP also plans to offer a range of implementation and support services for the HP Modular Cooling System.

More information on HP's power and cooling technologies and services is available at www.hp.com/go/infrastructure.

Pricing and availability

The HP Modular Cooling System, HP 10000 G2 Series Racks and HP Power Distribution Unit Management Module are expected to be available Feb. 6. The Modular Cooling System starts at $30,500, the 42U 10000 G2 Series Rack at $1,249 and the 36U rack at $1,199; the HP Power Distribution Unit Management Module starts at $199.(2)

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended Oct. 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $86.7 billion. More information about HP is available at www.hp.com.

(1) Source: IDC, Server Power Consumption Reemerges as a Critical Cost Factor In Data Centers, Doc #33937, August 2005.

(2) Estimated U.S. street prices. Actual prices may vary.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they ever materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward- looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including the expected development, performance or rankings of products or services; statements of expectation or belief; and any statement of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the development, performance and market acceptance of products and services and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to HP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2005 and other reports filed after such report. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

(C) 2006 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

    CONTACT: HP
             Eric Krueger, 281-518-6083
             eric.krueger@hp.com
             or
             Burson-Marsteller for HP
             Brandy Baxter, 415-591-4045
             brandy_baxter@sfo.bm.com
             or
             HP Media Relations Dept., 866-266-7272
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             www.hp.com/go/newsroom

    SOURCE: HP