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The simplified, reproducible lab conditions used in benchmark testing rarely represent the complex needs and mixed workload types in a real IT environment. As a result, a dazzling benchmark result doesn't necessarily translate into a server that's the all-around top performer in every scenario. That's especially true if the benchmark test doesn't reflect how your enterprise uses the server.

For example, most SAP customers deploy three-tier configurations, with the database for the SAP environment on one server and the applications on different servers. However, the majority of benchmark tests are performed on two-tier setups, with the application and database together on the same server. Also, consolidated workloads cannot be replicated in the lab, although for thousands of enterprises, they are the reality.

Consider the case of the Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Ltd. The company needed quicker customer response and better management for fluctuating workloads. So, Royal London management sought an all-around excellent performer, not just the fastest out of the gate. They picked HP Virtual Server Environment using HP Integrity Virtual Machines. Now, Royal London can flexibly handle unpredictable workloads of different types, including online transaction processing and batch processing.

Even though HP Integrity holds the top ranked TPC-C result (while delivering the best price-performance of the top 25 results)(1),  HP believes that balanced performance across multiple workloads should matter most when selecting a server. And it shows.

HP's Integrity servers deliver industry-leading performance across the variety, change and growth of real-world business conditions, for example:

• Demanding workloads. HP Integrity and Oracle delivered the world's first and only published 30 terabyte TPC-H™ benchmark result, the leading single-system 10 terabyte TPC-H result, the number one TPC-C™ result.(2)  
• SAP 2-Tier environments. An HP Integrity high-end system has captured the leadership spot in the 2-Tier SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) Standard Application Benchmark with a record 30,000 SD users on any single system, the largest number ever reported.(3)
• Multiple operating sytems. HP Integrity is an ideal consolidation platform. It can run not only HP-UX 11i (version 2 or 3) but also Windows®, Linux and OpenVMS. The HP Integrity family also supports the NonStop operating system.
• Consolidating IT architectures and cost-cutting. The Insight Power Management environment on HP Integrity servers helps manage power in the data centre, reducing costs and helping alleviate consolidation pressures by allowing more servers to be packed into less room. The HP Virtual Server Environment (the industry's first and most robust integrated software family for planning, managing and automating virtual servers)(4) can help reduce the number of physical servers needed, as well.