Hewlett Packard Enterprise Inc. today is rolling out eight new ProLiant Compute Gen12 servers, claiming advanced security capabilities, performance optimized for complex workloads and artificial intelligence-driven management features.

The servers are based on the new Intel Corp. Xeon 6 processors, which are designed for high levels of performance and power efficiency.

The ProLiant Compute DL384 Gen12 is designed for mixed, memory-intensive and AI workloads such as fine-tuning and inferencing with retrieval-augmented generation. It comes with an Nvidia Corp. GH200 NLV2, a high-performance platform primarily focused on large language model inference, with 1.2 terabytes of memory.

The ProLiant Compute DL380a Gen 12 is aimed at AI fine-tuning and large workloads. It comes with Nvidia H200 NVL Tensor Core graphic processing units, which deliver up to twice the inferencing speeds of the Nvidia H100, and six dedicated and redundant GPU power supplies.

Lights-out administration

The new servers feature the latest version of Integrated Lights Out, a proprietary management technology that allows for remote control access to ProLiant servers, even if they’re disconnected from the organization’s main network. It also has an enhanced and dedicated security processor called secure enclave that creates an unbreakable chain of trust to protect against firmware attacks while providing full line-of-sight throughout HPE’s supply chain.

HPE said iLO 7 is the first server with quantum computing-resistant readiness and that meets the requirements for the high-level FIPS 140-3 Level 3 cryptographic security certification.

The new servers can be managed with HPE Compute Ops Management, a cloud-based software platform for securing and automating server environments. AI-driven automation helps organizations improve energy efficiency by forecasting power usage and setting thresholds to control costs and emissions. A new global map view allows customers to instantly identify server health issues across distributed information technology environments. Automated onboarding simplifies server set-up and ongoing management in remote locations.

HPE said the new servers reduce power costs by 65% per year and that one Gen12 server delivers the same compute performance as seven Gen10 servers.

Optional liquid cooling

HPE also offers optional direct liquid cooling on one- and two-socket rack servers. Liquid cooling requires far less electricity than air conditioning because liquids absorb and transfer heat up to 1,000 times more efficiently than air. McKinsey & Co. has estimated that cooling accounts for about 40% of the average data center’s energy consumption.

“HPE has been doing liquid cooling for quite some time,” said John Carter, vice president of mainstream compute, citing the company’s Cray supercomputers. “We’ve got 300-plus patents that are sitting in our back pocket and we are able to leverage them now into our mainstream enterprise portfolio.”

HPE said the new systems feature protections against the use of quantum computing to break cryptographic algorithms. Securities experts have suggested that quantum computers may be able to defeat even the strongest cryptography in seconds.

To counter this risk, organizations are adopting quantum-resistant algorithms like the Leighton-Micali Signature scheme, which is based on hash functions and does not have known quantum vulnerabilities. The ProLiant Compute Gen 12 servers integrate LMS into HPE’s iLO 7 to digitally sign firmware, ensuring secure boot processes and preventing unauthorized modifications.

LMS is also integrated into remote management security for authentication and integrity of critical components. As quantum computing technology advances, LMS is expected to provide future-proof protection without requiring immediate cryptographic changes.

Six of the eight new HPE ProLiant Compute Gen12 servers featuring upcoming Intel Xeon 6 processors will be available this quarter.  HPE Synergy 480 and HPE ProLiant Compute DL580 Gen12 servers are expected in the summer.

Image: HPE