HP has launched an entry-level server family, the HP Integrity NonStop NS2000, which it claimed will offer high performance and fault-tolerance as cheaply as possible for a multi-core Integrity NonStop system.

The NS2000 is aimed at small and midsized organizations in sectors like health, financial services and telecoms. It's also mooted for emerging markets where growing companies need a high availability system that offers short term affordability and long term scalability. HP claimed that its NonStop technology enables growth without painful application compatibility issues.

HP could have a point, said one analyst. Too many smaller enterprise customers get priced out of the market for high-end, fault-tolerant servers, claimed Jim Johnson, chief executive officer of the research company Standish Group. \"For those customers, the NS2000 server offers significant value and additional choice for application availability and fault tolerance,\" he said.

HP promised the new rack-mounted NS2000 servers will be simple to manage but powerful. Their Intel Itanium multi-core processors could double the performance of previous entry-class systems and provide 24/7 data availability, with real-time access to critical business applications.

HP also claimed compatibility improvements. The NS2000 matches the production environments of the HP Integrity NonStop BladeSystem with a common software and I/O infrastructure. This, it claimed, helps create a cost-effective development and test platform. In turn, this will provide a target migration platform for current HP Integrity NonStop S-series customers. Since the NS2000 runs the same applications, it offers investment protection by extending existing solution capabilities, argued Winston Prather, general manager, NonStop, HP.

\"Customers with limited IT resources want cost-effective, quick and easy delivery of fault-tolerance, while minimizing the risk of downtime,\" said Prather. \"The NS2000 Integrity family delivers right out of the box, at a competitive price.\" The HP Integrity NonStop NS2000 server family is available worldwide in a variety of configurations. Customers have a choice of four- or eight-core hardware base bundles, 8 gigabytes (GB) or 16 GB memory per processor, as well as AC and DC powered versions.