Hewlett Packard is bringing the software-defined data center into reach for small and medium-size businesses with a complimentary edition of its HP StoreVirtual Virtual Storage Appliance (VSA) software.

A limited license of VSA is now available for no charge upon every purchase of least two “eligible” ProLiant Gen8 servers. HP didn’t specify which machines you have to buy in order to qualify for the offer, but it’s safe to assume that the deal only encompasses the lower-end models that trade off enterprise features for cost-efficiency and ease of use.

David Scott, the senior vice president and general manager of HP’s Storage group, said in an interview that SMBs can utilize the free version of VSA to deploy up to one terabyte of capacity on a maximum of three servers, for a total of 3TBs. Multiple machines can be clustered to create a virtual SAN that is more resilient than traditional direct-attached capacity.

“To unlock the full benefits of server virtualization in the most space- or budget-constrained environments, organizations need a converged approach to resilient, shared storage that supports their data-intensive virtualized workloads,” Scott said. “HP is the only storage provider that delivers powerful, efficient servers combined with free software-defined storage to help our customers maximize server virtualization ROI, even with a limited budget.”

Hewlett Packard is slimming down to concentrate on servers and other high growth areas. Chief exec Meg Whitman is reportedly looking to sell off her company’s mobile assets, including patents relating to the WebOS operating system it bought as part of the 2010 acquisition of Palm. Insiders with “direct knowledge” of the move said that HP has removed restrictions on the patents to make them more attractive for prospective buyers.