HP announced a new technology roadmap for its next-generation computing last month, outlining core technologies which it said will form the foundation for its future systems. MPE/iX wasn't mentioned in the initial press release for the Pervasive Solutions Foundation, but that shouldn't concern HP 3000 customers, according to the 3000 division's Customer Direct Communications Manager David Greene.
The HP press release set out the initial objectives for Hewlett-Packard's implementation of technologies that work with its forthcoming Intel Architecture (IA) systems. (See sidebar with release text). The purpose of the release was to identify HP's commitment to the IA-64 technology, processor designs it has been working on with Intel since 1994.
When asked if the Pervasive Solutions press release had an impact on the HP 3000, Greene said "It does, and it doesn't." While only Unix and Windows NT were mentioned specifically in the press release, Greene said HP 3000s will be in line for some of the core technologies developed through Pervasive Solutions.
HP said in the release the Pervasive Solutions Foundation "will provide a single architecture for HP's computing products, spanning desktop PCs to the highest performing enterprise servers." Greene said the 3000 is online with the objectives for the foundation, if not in step with the foundation's efforts to communicate to the press.
"A communication like this is designed to get information out at a very high level, with no detail behind it," Greene said. "There's no effort in the release to link it specifically to any of HP's product lines."
Green explained that the strategy in the HP 3000 (CSY) division is "to keep up with what's going on with the core technologies, figure out which ones make sense and bring them to the 3000. We fully expect that some of the technologies coming out of the investigations and implementations that form Pervasive Solutions are going to end up in the HP 3000."
Not all of the technologies in Pervasive Computing will end up on the 3000, he added, "but we certainly think there will be leverage of the work that's happening." Greene acknowledged the absence of MPE/iX in the press release, saying "the 3000 is not the center of HP's focus. But there's nothing in the press release that changes any of HP's commitment to the 3000."
The CSY customer communications manager said 3000 customers should view the communique as HP's initial commitment to leading edge technology. The final set of environments that will support Pervasive Computing will be broader than Windows NT and Unix, he explained. "The whole announcement is focused at people who are going to make future investments in large technology purchases." In contrast, Greene said "the primary audience for the HP 3000 is customers who have already made investments in the HP 3000."
Pervasive Solutions, as outlined in the initial press release, makes provisions to support other HP technologies through investment protection. This protection will be available for PA-RISC systems, although Greene wouldn't confirm that HP 3000 PA-RISC systems are among those systems. The release also referred to investment protection for "IA-32" systems, a new term that Greene said refers to Pentium-based computers such as HP's NetServers.
"I don't see anything in there that says MPE is not going to be included," Greene said. "I don't think our customers are expecting that MPE is going to be there as the first supported environment on HP's latest and greatest hardware technologies."