Added Options With Hp Support; Proactive, Not Reactive; An Easy Transition For Risc And Ia-32 Users; Running 32-Bit Windows Applications - HP rx2600 Overview

Added options with HP support

For customers who purchase HP support, fault management events can be forwarded to the HP Support
Organization. In this case, HP can take responsibility for monitoring, filtering, and trending the events and taking
action on items that need attention.
At the premium end of HP's Support offerings, customers can also sign up to receive services from HP's High
Availability Observatory (HAO) organization. The HAO provides continuous and proactive monitoring of the
customer's environment via a dedicated and private ISDN network. The ISDN link allows secure information flow
between the customer site and HP's Support Organization and provides HP support engineers direct access to the
customer's system. As part of the HAO implementation, HP installs a support node at the customer site, and this
node is connected securely to the HP Support Organization.

Proactive, not reactive

Fault management uses the philosophy of proactive (as opposed to reactive) management of problems. Fault
management provides highly accurate fault diagnosis the first time, even as the problem occurs, and initiates or
allows fast corrective action. Fault management results in a substantial decrease in unplanned downtime.

An easy transition for RISC and IA-32 users

A major feature of the Intel Itanium 2 processor and HP's new servers is backward compatibility of the Intel
Itanium 2 processor with IA-32 and PA-RISC processors. Backward compatibility is particularly useful for
applications that are not performance-intensive or for system utilities and development tools that aid in porting and
migration. Although most existing IA-32 and PA-RISC binaries are compatible, optimal performance can only be
achieved once an application is compiled specifically for the Intel Itanium 2 processor.

Running 32-bit Windows applications

32-bit Microsoft Windows binaries can run on the 64-bit Windows operating system using the WOW64 software
emulation that is already part of 64-bit Microsoft Windows. The OS automatically detects whether the application
is 32-bit or 64-bit and handles it accordingly. This is fine for utility applications, but performance-sensitive
applications will benefit from a recompile.

Running 32-bit Linux applications

32-bit Linux binaries can be run on Itanium 2–based systems using the processor's built-in hardware translation
feature. The Intel Value Engine (IVE) hardware is part of the Intel Itanium 2 processor, and it gives a basic IA-32
functionality. If an application is performance-critical, recompiling the application will allow it to take advantage
of the strengths of the Intel Itanium 2 microarchitecture.

The IA-32 Execution Layer

Beginning in the second half of 2003, 32-bit software compatibility will be enhanced via the Intel IA-32 Execution
Layer (IEL). IEL is a software binary that will be integrated into major Itanium 2-based operating system releases.
Whenever a 32-bit Intel application is launched, the operating system would then call the IEL to translate the
32-bit application into a native Itanium 2-based application. IEL working in conjunction with an Itanium 2
processor is expected to yield application performance similar to that of a 1.5 GHz Intel Xeon Processor MP.
Because IEL compatibility is gained via software translation, the IEL will deliver further performance improvements
on future, faster Intel Itanium processors. The IEL is expected to supersede the Intel Value Engine hardware feature
as it will clearly provide much better performance on 32-bit applications.

Running RISC applications

Users can run their PA-RISC binaries unchanged and completely transparently, thanks to the Aries dynamic code
translator that is part of HP-UX 11i. This translator allows running 32-bit and 64-bit PA-RISC applications on the
Intel Itanium 2 microarchitecture without the need to recompile. A straightforward recompile of 32-bit and 64-bit
PA-RISC applications yields native Itanium 2 processor binaries.

Porting and migration services: transition help from HP

Thousands of programs run quite well in Itanium processor compatibility mode with minimal changes. However,
porting these applications to the Intel Itanium 2 processor allows them to run even better because they can then
take full advantage of the new processor's distinctive capabilities.
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