HP And Hitachi, Ltd. Collaborate to Develop Policy-based Network Manager, HP OpenView PolicyXpert - Company Business and Marketing

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, April 3, 2000

Hewlett-Packard Company and Hitachi, Ltd. Tuesday announced an agreement to jointly develop and sell an enhanced version of HP OpenView PolicyXpert for enterprise-class and large carrier-class, IP-based networks. HP OpenView PolicyXpert enables network administrators to define Quality of Service (QoS) policies and deploy the policies on IP-based network devices, such as routers.

Carrier- and ISP-provided IP-based networks increasingly are being used as the infrastructures of enterprise information and public communication systems. Mission-critical applications and services require QoS-guaranteed and highly reliable communication services. To meet these requirements, a policy server must provide the functionality for efficiently controlling the QoS of user traffic, functionality for distributing the load generated from managing many network devices, and high reliability for managing the control of network devices. Even if the number of users and network devices grows, the enhanced HP OpenView PolicyXpert will enable network administrators to maintain the QoS and reliability of IP network services while reducing the cost of user and device management.

The first version of HP OpenView PolicyXpert developed by the joint collaboration is scheduled to be released in the third quarter of 2000 and will provide the following features:

-- functionality for linking routers to DiffServ communication services based on the standards of the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force);

-- functionality for the linkage of multiple HP OpenView PolicyXpert servers for distributed control;

-- support of HP-UX(1) and Solaris(2) environments by fourth quarter; and

-- Japanese localization by the fourth quarter.

"Since its inception, the goal of HP OpenView PolicyXpert has been to provide open, standards-based management of the heterogeneous environment and to meet the scalability requirements of the large carrier and service provider environments," said Juergen Rottler, acting general manager of HP's OpenView Software Business Unit. "This collaboration with Hitachi will allow HP OpenView PolicyXpert to meet these requirements more rapidly and more completely, thereby making the overall policy-based management paradigm more compelling and empowering for our customers."

"Scalability and high reliability are necessary for QoS control of large-scale IP-based networks. In collaborating with HP, Hitachi will provide highly reliable and scalable technology, cultivated from the experience of developing systems for many customers, and provide QoS control technology for large-scale IP-based networks," said Shoji Yamamoto, Hitachi, Ltd.'s executive general manager of Software Division. "This collaboration will encourage customers to use the enhanced version of PolicyXpert to construct scalable and highly reliable QoS-guaranteed IP-based networks."

Since 1989, HP and Hitachi have had a broad and long-term alliance, which has included the joint development of HP's PA-RISC(3) CPU chips, the design and building of Hitachi's PA-RISC systems, and HP-UX joint development. Last May, HP and Hitachi announced collaboration in the storage area (see May 5, 1999 release titled "HP, Hitachi, Ltd. and Hitachi Data Systems Sign Joint Technology and OEM Agreements for High-end Multiplatform Storage System").

HP is one of the world's largest providers of integrated management solutions for applications, systems, networks, software, desktops, security, storage and IT services. HP OpenView solutions are at work in more than 120,000 multivendor distributed computing environments worldwide. Together with offerings from more than 200 partners, HP OpenView offers a complete portfolio of services and management solutions on all major platforms. Web at http://www.openview.hp.com.

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1998 (ended March 31, 1999) consolidated sales of 7,977 billion yen ($65.9 billion(a)). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., visit Hitachi's Web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp.

(a) At an exchange rate of 121 yen to the dollar.

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 plans to spin off Agilent Technologies and distribute its shares to HP shareowners by mid-calendar year 2000. Agilent consists of HP's test and measurement, semiconductor products, chemical analysis and healthcare solutions businesses, and has leading positions in multiple market segments.

HP has 85,400 employees worldwide and had total revenue from continuing operations of $42.4 billion in its 1999 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.