HP makes play for utility computing

Eager to capture a lead in the race to deliver utility computing, Hewlett-Packard this week at InfoWorld's CTO Forum in San Francisco will detail the next phase of its UDC (Utility Data Center) architecture, combining the vision of grid computing with system management and security software.

The move comes as IBM, Compaq, and Sun separately develop similar projects designed to harness the resources of distributed datacenters.

Whereas IBM is pushing a hosted model of grid computing, HP is set to roll out an enterprise hosted-software platform designed to give companies the ability to build a datacenter around their own business requirements.

The Utility Controller management console links a datacenter into a single system that can dynamically reallocate resources and contains a set of APIs designed to meet the specifications of grid standards from groups such as the Grid Forum.

"The Utility Controller software connects into and creates a virtualization capability. It is a portal with a GUI interface. All you need to do is draw lines to connect your farms or grids, then hit submit, and it loads the operating system," said Nick van der Zweep, director of HP's Always-on infrastructure solution division in Cupertino, Calif.

"IBM wants to take the entire application set and host it on their site. With UDC we are installing it at the customers site. It is way more functional," van der Zweep said.

The system is capable of monitoring application response times and can dynamically allocate resources to meet predefined policies, van der Zweep said.

The developments are also significant in that other players, including Compaq and Sun, all have financial positions to protect.

"The hardware guys are worried about grid computing because it completely commoditizes hardware in a way that software never has," said Jasmine Noel, an analyst at Framingham, Mass.-based Hurwitz Group. "They want to control how grid computing gets extended into the marketplace."

According to Noel, if the grid-computing vision becomes reality, enterprises will be able to manage any hardware component, such as disk space or CPUs, as one virtual supercomputer, thereby pre-empting the ability of hardware vendors to differentiate their wares.

That reality may not be too far away. IBM, for its part, has already struck a deal with American Express to provide "utilitylike access" to computing resources. The deal, effective March 1 and worth over $4 billion to IBM, is expected to reap significant cost and performance gains for American Express.

Meanwhile, Compaq's recently announced Adaptive Infrastructure Initiative is designed to offer IT executives the ability to dynamically reallocate system resources. In fact, a merged HP-Compaq is expected to deliver the scale needed to advance such reprovisioning technology.

But despite assertions by executives such as HP's van der Zweep that the reallocation of resources between partners will become reality, one analyst believes this vision is a long way off due to security implications.

"Security standards are so far from being ubiquitous. All the applications would have to have the same security [standards]," said John Pescatore, research director for Internet security at Gartner in San Jose, Calif.

Tom Sullivan and Dan Neel contributed to this article

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