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■COMMERCIAL PROFILE
Planning for life after Alpha
As the venerable HP Alpha server approaches the end of its life, more and more users
are making the transition to HP’s Integrity platform
The range runs from entry-level systems such as the
RX2660 and the RX3600, which are pitched at the
upper end of the x86 Intel market, to mid-range work-
horses and high-end machines such as the RX8640s
and the Superdome, which are geared towards very
demanding computing environments.
According to Ciaran Hynes, Enterprise Server and
Storage business unit manager for HP Ireland, the
Itanium-powered Integrity is more than a worthy suc-
cessor to Alpha.
“The current range of Itanium processors gives four
times the performance you would have got with the
latest Alpha chipset. If you take the Integrity RX3600
server, for example, that’s about 83pc of the price of
the comparable Alpha server, the ES47, and delivers
70pc more performance.”
Hynes estimates that about 60pc of the Alpha user
base has already completed the migration from Alpha,
with a further 20pc likely to do so in the next 12 to 18
months. He says the performance improvements that
come with the Integrity is the key factor persuading
Alpha customers to move to the new platform. “It’s the
real motivating factor because it allows them to meet
the increased demand for processing power.”
Another key driver is cost, according to Aidan
McHugh, sales manager for HP Enterprise Systems at
Aidan McHugh, Morse Solutions Morse Solutions, who points out that an Alpha user
who migrates to an Integrity box will see his or her
MIGRATING to a new computer system is like visit- investment repaid very rapidly. “A user who migrates
ing the doctor: you know you should do it but you can’t from a big, old Alpha box to a new, entry-level Integrity
be bothered with the hassle. The difference with com- system can probably do so for less than the cost of sup-
puters, though, is that eventually you have no choice – porting the Alpha box over a three-year period.”
at some point the vendor will decide that it will no Having a solid technical roadmap or migration path
longer support a certain piece of hardware and it then to follow is a third important reason why many Alpha
makes overwhelming sense to move to a new system. users have been happy to start migrating their systems
Such is the case with HP’s Alpha server. This high- to Integrity. Not only does Integrity support over 1,000
end workhorse became an instant hit when it was applications on OpenVMS, but it also supports a wide
introduced in 1992 and now there are hundreds of range of operating systems.
these machines installed nationwide in organisations “The roadmap makes it very easy to transition from
across all sectors. But the Alpha, respected and reli- OpenVMS Alpha to OpenVMS Integrity,” says
able though it is, is reaching the end of the road. In McHugh. “For Tru64 Alpha users, the migration is
early 2007, HP stopped shipping new Alphas and in also very clear – either to a HP-UX platform or an
April 2008, it ceased providing upgrades. And although OpenVMS platform on Integrity. Integrity also sup-
the company has pledged to support it for another five ports Linux and Microsoft, so almost regardless of
years – until 2012 at least – the writing is on the wall what OS is being used, Integrity can support that.”
for Alpha users: it’s time to plan for life after Alpha. The bottom line, adds Hynes, is that the time is right
Of course, computer companies never retire a to make the move to Integrity. “Integrity has been on
machine without having an even better one ready to the market for at least five years and has been adopted
take its place. The superior machine in this case is the by almost all of our key customers at this stage, so we
Integrity line of servers. First introduced by HP in have no hesitation in recommending it as the logical
2003, Integrity has since become a star performer transition from Alpha.”
-
within a variety of industry verticals and large govern- For more information on migrating from Alpha to
ment departments running a wide range of applica- Integrity visit:
tions from databases and data warehouses to core
http://www.morse.ie/integrity
banking applications.
www.hp.com/products1/evolution/alpha_retaintrust
64 Knowledge Ireland September 2008
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