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HP BladeSystem Servers Lead with 35 Percent of TOP500 List of World’s Most Powerful Supercomputers

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HP today announced that the company continues to strengthen its position on the TOP500 list, a ranking of the world’s 500 most powerful supercomputers, with HP BladeSystem c-Class servers dominating as the most prominent computing architecture on the list.

HP BladeSystem c-Class servers power 176 entries, or 35 percent of the total entries on the TOP500 list. This is more than any other single computing architecture and more blade installations than all other vendors combined. Blade systems have experienced strong momentum in high-performance computing, with 66 percent of the supercomputers on the TOP500 list, 329 total entries, now configured with blade servers.

Additionally, for the second consecutive year, the HP BladeSystem installation at Computational Research Laboratories (CRL), a wholly owned company of the Tata Group, India’s largest conglomerate, is ranked in the top 10 of the TOP500 list and remains the most powerful supercomputer in the Asia Pacific region. The HP BladeSystem cluster at CRL is also the world’s largest system used for research in cloud computing.

With a total of 183 entries on the exclusive list, HP has increased the number of servers cataloged by 11 percent compared to its November 2007 ranking.⁽¹⁾

To highlight HP’s expertise and investment in high-performance and cloud computing environments built on scale-out technologies, the company is showcasing the world’s first two-in-one server blade, the HP ProLiant BL2x220c, at the International Supercomputing Conference in Dresden, Germany, June 17-20. The recently announced HP BL2x220c server blade powers one of the world’s most energy-efficient, industry-standard clusters, according to data reported in this latest edition of the TOP500 list. Additionally, the two-in-one server blade is designed for customers that require a high-performance solution that delivers significant power per watt.

The HP BL2x220c’s two independent servers in a single blade configuration offer double the compute power while reducing cooling and power costs. It achieves this by allowing all 32 server nodes to share a single power supply and cooling system. The system delivers industry-leading performance density with up to 12.28 teraflops per second⁽²⁾ double-precision peak performance in an industry standard rack.

“Through innovation and a unique understanding of high-performance computing needs, HP can help customers maximize application performance without increasing power usage,” said Christine Martino, vice president and general manager, Scalable Computing Infrastructure, HP. “The rapid adoption of HP BladeSystem technology, including the HP BL2x220C, on the TOP500 supercomputer list, clearly reflects HP’s ability to deliver customers computing technology optimized for large scale-out and emerging cloud computing environments.”

New blade customers

WETA Digital Ltd, a New Zealand-based animation company, renowned for the visual effects of “The Lord of the Rings” and “King Kong” movie blockbusters, implemented HP BL2x220c systems to create a high-performance platform that would increase processing density and reduce energy consumption. The system, consisting of four clusters equipped with156 BL2x220c server blades each, ranks 219 through 222 on the current TOP500 list.

About the rankings

The TOP500 ranking of supercomputers is released twice a year by researchers at the Universities of Tennessee and Mannheim, Germany, and at NERSC Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The list ranks supercomputers worldwide based on the Linpack N*N Benchmark, a yardstick of performance that is a reflection of processor speed and scalability.

More information about HP high-performance computing is available at www.hp.com/go/hptc.

About HP

HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers – from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world’s largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $110.4 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2008. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

⁽¹⁾ HP placed 166 systems on the TOP500 in November 2007.

⁽²⁾ Trillions of floating point operations per second.

© 2008 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.