Hewlett Packard Enterprise has shipped an enhanced edition of its ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 product for small office and edge locations.
The new HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus, which updates a product originally introduced in 2017, is the first version of the system to offer an as-a-service purchasing option in addition to traditional capital expense pricing.
Like its predecessor, the new ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 features a compact footprint optimized for use in remote sites with limited room for IT gear. Weighing in at about 10 pounds, the device measures 9.65″ x 9.65″ x 4.6″, making it over 2X smaller than the product’s earlier generation.
“It’s about the size of a hardcover book,” says Tim Peters, HPE’s vice president and general manager for global SMB and mid-market. It’s also, he continues, three times smaller than what HPE calls the unit’s closest competitor, the Dell PowerEdge T40.
To further accommodate the needs of users without server closets or other places to hide noisy hardware, the unit is engineered to operate at 36 decibels. “The design spec was a public library,” Peters says. “How do we keep it more quiet than a public library?”
The main technique employed to reach that target was excluding an onboard power subsystem from the product. “It’s exactly like your AC adapter on your laptop. You have the cord and the brick on the outside,” Peters says, noting that this arrangement allows the device to run safely without a fan.
Together, he continues, the product’s small size and quiet operation make it “as close to invisible as possible,” which is exactly what a small business owner or branch office manager demands. “I want to keep it out of sight and hide it, and no sound,” Peters says.
ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus units are available in a performance configuration bearing four-core Intel Xeon E class processors and an entry-level version with two-core Pentium G5420 chips. Both options offer twice the performance of the system’s previous edition.
The device also comes with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 16TB of internal storage.
To meet end user expectations for security, the system features HPE’s “silicon root of trust” technology, which is designed to lock out firmware-level exploits and malware from the factory to production deployment.
Included as well in the product is HPE’s InfoSight for Servers solution, which utilizes artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to anticipate and prevent hardware issues. Available to SMBs for the first time in this device, the system displays status information on a “server wellness dashboard” and can make proactive recommendations for eliminating performance bottlenecks and other issues.
A special edition of HPE’s Integrated Lights Out (iLO) monitoring and management tool, also included with the server, comes with partitioned remote control functionality separate from the rest of the offering. “That allows us to give partners the ability to sell that as a service,” Peters notes.
For the first time, users can employ HPE’s Rapid Setup software to install and configure the unit in what Peters says is 35% less time than would otherwise be required, and with less onsite expertise. “It allows them to deploy these systems without being there and working with someone at the customer’s side, or by sending a junior tech at a much lower cost than their more senior techs,” Peters says.
List pricing for the ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus begins around $700. The new as-a-service purchasing plan for the device starts at less than $20 a month. “For as little as a Netflix movie subscription, a customer can purchase this on a consumption basis over time and be able to manage their cash flow,” Peters observes.
HPE announced plans last year to make its entire portfolio available as a service by 2022.
ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus devices figure prominently in HPE’s latest crop of pre-assembled, end-to-end small business solutions. Those include an “office in a box” bundle that combines the new server with Instant On wireless access points from HPE’s Aruba Networks unit and an HPE RDX Removable Disk System for local backup and recovery. Pricing on the package, which comes with HPE Foundation Care services, starts at $125 per month. Both 24-month and 48-month terms are available, along with refresh and return options.
A new “intelligent edge” solution also combines ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus servers with Aruba Instant On access points, plus optional cloud services for connecting that hardware to a central corporate data center. “It gives just the right amount of compute for remote and branch offices at the edge,” says Meghan Zeigler, a manager on HPE’s worldwide SMB and mid-market solutions and services team.
A third solution for file services and backup, meanwhile, supports up to four 4TB attached storage drives. “We have optimized configurations for central access, fast performance, and secure collaboration which increase productivity and maintain availability,” Zeigler says.
All three solutions are designed to integrate with the Microsoft Azure public cloud. “They are tested, optimized, and validated for on-prem and hybrid cloud use cases,” Zeigler notes.
Together with the ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus, the new solutions unveiled today seek to satisfy the three top needs expressed in research by HPE’s SMB end users: simplicity, security, and efficiency.
“They really want to focus on their strengths, and not really have to worry about the technology involved in doing it,” says Robert Checketts, a senior manager in HPE’s worldwide SMB segment and product marketing group.
