HP Discover: HP updates CloudSystem with OpenStack support

FRANKFURT: HP has unveiled a series of updates to its Converged Cloud portfolio, including greater cloud bursting support and improved app deployments.

Chief among these updates in the 7.2 CloudSystem upgrade is the ability to offer virtualisation support for Kernel-based Virtual Machines (KVMs) on OpenStack technology, in order to broaden the number of enterprises that can use the tool.

"Choice is key for customers so now we are supporting virtual environments for OpenStack offering on KVMs, alongside our existing support for offerings from Microsoft or VMWare," said HP chief operating officer Bill Veghte.

As well as this, the firm has improved the bursting capabilities of its cloud management tool for both private and public deployments so it is now available on Amazon EC2, Savvis and VMWare. Bursting would allow an application running in a private cloud or datacentre to then suddenly switch to a public cloud when the demand for computing capacity spikes.

"This is the richest choice of bursting targets from any provider on the market," boasted Veghte.

Finally the firm has also launched a series of new HP Cloud Maps to increase the number of application templates available to developers for the improved rollout of cloud-hosted apps within an enterprise, whether hosted on private or public clouds.

"With this we can bring developers and IT operations staff together to standardise the tools they want to use and get them to market rapidly, as opposed to a fragmented set of processes," said Steve Dietch, vice president of the worldwide cloud enterprise group at HP.

Furthermore, HP has added new functionality to its public cloud system, Cloud Services, to offer more on-demand capabilities such as a pay-as-you-go model for its Cloud Compute system for the deployment of compute instances.

"This is enterprise grade cloud computing at public cloud prices with our service level agreements on 100 percent availability threshold and embedded security," said Veghte.

As well as touting its own use of such systems internally, HP also said it now has over 850 CloudSystem customers and 2,000 Public Cloud customers, with the likes of BP, Shell and Eon all speaking at the event to provide their backing to the firm's cloud technologies.