HP Plans Server Presence At VMworld

Channelweb.com reported Friday that Cisco plans to contribute its new server hardware for use at VMworld as part of an aggressive move to gain traction with its new Unified Computing System (UCS) platform and related servers. Channel sources reported last week that Cisco took HP's place as the server provider for VMworld. VMware said in that story that HP was welcome to participate, but HP did not comment at the time.

Cisco in March unveiled its UCS strategy, which seeks to combine server, storage, virtualization and networking capabilities in an integrated package that the company said will make data centers more flexible, efficient and cost-effective.

With UCS, Cisco and HP, previously partners in selling Cisco-based network equipment, have become archrivals.

HP plans to have a major server presence at VMworld as it has done so for several years, said Doug Strain, product manager of virtualization for the company. "I don't think any vendor is an exclusive vendor at VMworld," he said.

HP will be providing servers and other hardware for the certification labs at VMworld, which are a very popular part of the event, Strain said.

HP will also provide hardware for use in other areas of the VMworld conference, but plans have yet to be finalized, Strain said. Last year, in addition to supporting the certification labs, HP also supported the VMworld conference with servers and thin clients for use as e-mail stations, he said.

VMworld is a must-attend event for HP, Strain said. "We sell more VMware licenses than anyone else on the planet," he said.