HP Introduces Linux-based HP VISUALIZE Personal Workstations
HP Extends Customer Choice in Workstation Solutions
Palo Alto, California. June 21, 1999
Hewlett-Packard Company, the worldwide workstation leader1, today announced two new HP VISUALIZE high-performance, Intel Pentium III and Pentium III Xeon processor-based personal workstations. The HP VISUALIZE PL450 and XL550 Personal Workstations will ship with Linux and deliver leading application performance for popular Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software solutions from Avant!, Mentor Graphics and Synopsys, as well as for other technical applications.
"Offering a choice of leading technologies is part of our strategy to provide the best workstation solutions to meet our customers' needs," said Roger Jollis, market development manager for HP's Workstation Systems Division. "With the availability of HP VISUALIZE Personal Workstations pre-loaded with Red Hat Linux, we're effectively extending the robustness of a UNIX operating system to the Intel platform for EDA customers and other customers who want that environment."
The HP VISUALIZE PL450 and XL550 Personal Workstations
Built for engineers and scientists who need tools that let them work unconstrained, the new HP VISUALIZE PL450 and XL550 Personal Workstations are ideal for customers who want to add Intel Pentium-based workstations, but with UNIX system reliability and functionality, to their design centers. The HP VISUALIZE PL450 Personal Workstation is designed for engineers who want Linux and Intel in their design environments, while the HP VISUALIZE XL550 is designed for those requiring maximum performance on an Intel-based system. The XL and PL can be used with platform-computing load-sharing facility software to create a compute-farm configuration ideal for simulation environments.Today's announcement underscores HP's commitment to furthering the development of Linux as a high-quality operating system that meets the needs of a wide range of highly demanding technical applications. Linux is the first open-standards-based 32-bit operating system that combines the advantages of a UNIX system with an Intel-based platform.
"We're very impressed with the performance of Synopsys' VCS simulator running on these new HP VISUALIZE Personal Workstations," said Steve Smith, director of marketing for the Simulation Technology Group at Synopsys, Inc. "Our customers report spending 50 to 70 percent of their design cycles verifying the functionality of complex system-on-chip devices. The combination of VCS and HP's workstations running the Linux OS offers compelling price/performance points which can deliver the power to achieve time-to-market and design quality goals.
Linux, the result of a worldwide development effort over the Internet, is an open-source, multiuser, multitasking operating system that runs on a variety of computing platforms. The installed base of Linux -- estimated to be between 10 million and 15 million sites currently -- continues to grow.
Configurations, U.S. Pricing and Availability
HP expects to begin worldwide shipment of HP VISUALIZE Personal Workstations with U.S. English implementations of Linux2 in the third calendar quarter of this year. HP plans to offer support for Linux (both hardware and software) in a warranty and purchase-support package available on HP price lists. Red Hat support also will be available. Example configurations are priced as follows:No. 1 Workstation Vendor in 1998
In 1998, for the second year in a row, HP shipped more systems than any other vendor in the combined worldwide UNIX system and Windows NT-based workstation market, according to International Data Corp. (IDC)1. More information about HP VISUALIZE workstations is available on the Web at http://www.hp.com/go/visualize.About HP
Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services for business and home -- is focused on capitalizing on the opportunities of the Internet and the proliferation of electronic services.HP had computer-related revenue of $39.5 billion in its 1998 fiscal year. HP plans to launch a new company consisting of its industry-leading test-and-measurement, semiconductor products, chemical-analysis and medical businesses. These businesses represented $7.6 billion of HP's total revenue in fiscal 1998. With leading positions in multiple market segments, this technology-based company will focus on opportunities such as communications and life sciences.
HP has 123,000 employees worldwide and had total revenue of $47.1 billion in its 1998 fiscal year. Information about HP, its products and the company's Year 2000 program can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.
1Based on the IDC Worldwide Workstation Review and Forecast 1998.
2Available through the HP direct sales force.
Pentium is a U.S. registered trademark of Intel Corp.
UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.
Windows NT is a U.S. registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.
Note: HP press releases are archived on this Web site for historical purposes. Information in the releases is accurate at the time of release. However, product specifications and availability, promotions, prices, relationships, contact numbers and other specific information may change over time. Some information about product pricing and availability may be limited to specific geographic areas and may differ in other areas. Information as stated in the release may or may not be in effect after the date on the release.
In addition, the press releases may contain statements that are forward-looking. These statements are based on current expectations as of the date of a particular release. Actual results may differ materially from those projected because of a number of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in HP's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Click here to review these important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statements.