Compaq 222863-001 Compaq TaskSmart Appliance Servers: Computing Paradigm of th - Page 7

Compaq TaskSmart Appliance Servers: Computing Paradigm of the Future 7 Other TaskSmart Solutions These imminent products are only the start of Compaq appliance server plans. Within this new brand and appliance architecture, Compaq has identified many other major applications where appliance servers can provide significant time-to-solution and price/performance advantages over existing general-purpose server deployments. Many industry analysts have already identified network file storage appliances (also known as network-attached storage or NAS) as a large and growing market. IDC values the worldwide NAS market at $12 billion by 2002. Several closed proprietary offerings have been developed. As with the Internet caching solution, the Compaq approach will integrate our innovative standardsbased hardware technologies with an optimal file server software solution to bring customers a trusted solution. Meeting customer demands for multi-protocol file system support, ease of deployment, scalability, and related solutions such as back-up offerings, Compaq plans to deliver a range of dedicated file storage servers later this year. Many other solutions are at various stages of investigation and development. Applications under consideration include security, web servers, messaging, telecom, and database solutions. In each case, Compaq will work with one or two leading partners, optimize the systems, integrate them within the overall appliance server family framework, and deliver the same high level of management support so that all appliances in the family have the same look and feel and management functionality. Customers will not need to support new architectures or develop new vendor relationships. Compaq will provide, support, and manage the integrated application. Compaq appliance choices are based on two key factors: • Whether the application and communication standards for the application are well-defined • The amount of customization required by most common deployments of that application If standards are well-defined, the appliance server based on those standards will be broadly accepted. When little application customization is required, those servers can be integrated before shipment, easily deployed, and plugged seamlessly into a customer network. The Compaq vision of appliance servers incorporates two differing technical approaches. For some applications, tuning and/or embedding the operating system and integrating with generalpurpose server hardware achieves the best balance between optimizing the performance and reliability of that application and flexibility. For others, truly optimal performance requires tuning and specializing the hardware as well as the operating system. Conclusion With this announcement, Compaq brings the industry-standard approach to appliance servers. Compaq TaskSmart appliance servers will guarantee customers the flexibility, cost advantages, and performance enhancements delivered by traditional Compaq server platforms, along with application integration expertise forged through close and long-term industry partnerships. Customers deploying Compaq appliance servers will know their server appliances are tuned and optimized for best application performance, comply with industry-standard protocols, and can be integrated and managed within any computing environment. Compaq TaskSmart servers accelerate customer time-to-solution and provide excellent business advantage. 0194-0699-A