Compaq unveils software to improve servers

NEW YORK: Compaq Computer Corp. on Wednesday said it will launch software and

hardware early next year to make it easier, faster and cheaper for customers to

set up and manage multiple computer servers, including its forthcoming

"blade" server.

Houston-based Compaq also said it will begin shipping "blade"

servers, thin computers that can stand like books on a shelf, in early 2002. The

news came one day after competitor Hewlett-Packard Co. became the first major

company to unveil its version of a blade server. Hewlett-Packard plans to buy

Compaq next year.

Each blade is a separate server computer, storage system or network part that

slides into slots in one box, providing power and connections and enabling

companies to decrease power bills and the size of their data centers. Compaq

said the blade and others in its ProLiant line of servers will work with new

software to allow systems managers to make changes across all of their servers

rather than on a server-by-server basis. Businesses run large applications like

electronic mail on servers.

Instead of physically setting up each server, companies could deploy hundreds

of servers from one physical location, said Mary McDowell, general manager of

Compaq's Industry Standard Server Group. As companies lower information

technology budgets, managers are struggling to keep costs down not only when

they purchase equipment, but also for the years that the equipment is used, she

said.

Compaq said it will embed existing management software on its line of

ProLiant servers as part of the changes. These servers, based on microprocessors

made by Intel Corp., cost from a few thousand dollars to $25,000, Compaq said.