ProLiant
| Company type | Product line |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer hardware, Servers |
| Predecessor | Compaq SystemPro |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder | Compaq |
| Fate | Brand acquired and maintained by Hewlett Packard Enterprise after HP-Compaq merger and HP split |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Server computers (ML, DL, RL, SL, BL, SY, XL (Apollo), MicroServer) |
| Owner | Hewlett Packard Enterprise (since 2015) |
| Parent | Hewlett Packard Enterprise |
| Website | www |
ProLiant represents a line of server computers initially created by Compaq in 1993, later marketed by Hewlett-Packard (HP), and currently maintained by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). It was introduced as the successor to Compaq's premium SystemPro servers. Following HP’s acquisition of Compaq in 2002, the company phased out its NetServer product line, consolidating under the ProLiant brand. By early 2010, HP ProLiant dominated the x86 server market both in sales volume and revenue. After HP's division in 2015, HPE retained ownership of the ProLiant portfolio.
HP/HPE’s ProLiant servers are equipped with sophisticated features including redundant power units, Out-of-band management capabilities through iLO, support for hot-swappable components, and configurations allowing up to eight processor sockets.
History
Launched by Compaq in 1993 as a replacement for the high-tier SystemPro series, ProLiant operated alongside the mid-level ProSignia servers until the latter was discontinued in 2000.
On January 31, 2000, Compaq reorganized the ProLiant range into two main categories: ML (Modular Line) servers designed for extensive scalability and DL (Density Line) servers optimized for rack deployment.[1] This initial generation is commonly referred to as "Gen1," with "Gen2" spanning from 2001 to 2002.
Following HP’s acquisition of Compaq in May 2002, HP phased out its NetServer brand, adopting ProLiant as its primary server line. The merger also incorporated other Compaq products such as NonStop servers, Presario PCs, and iPAQ handheld devices.
HP continued manufacturing Gen2 ProLiants while replacing Compaq’s original software with HP-developed management tools. Subsequent generations—ranging from Gen3 through Gen7—were introduced throughout the 2000s into the early 2010s.
In February 2012, HP unveiled the ProLiant Gen8 series.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name Later, in July 2013, the company launched the blade-centric HP Moonshot Server. The DL580 Gen8 model acted as a bridge to Gen9 by integrating features like UEFI boot support.
Commencing August 2014, HP rolled out Gen9 servers powered by Intel Haswell processors and DDR4 memory technology, including models such as ML350 Gen9 and BL460c Gen9 Blade. These systems supported both BIOS and UEFI firmware interfaces.
After HP's corporate split on November 1, 2015, HPE assumed control of the ProLiant brand along with legacy lines like NonStop servers.
Beginning in Q4 2017, HPE introduced Gen10 servers,Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad nameCite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name later extending support to AMD EPYC processors within that year to lower virtual machine costs by up to half.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
In April 2021, HPE debuted the Gen10 Plus lineup featuring third-generation Intel Xeon scalable processors combined with PCIe Gen4 technology to enhance data throughput and networking performance.
November 2022 marked the release of Gen11 servers compatible with fourth-generation AMD EPYC and Intel Sapphire Rapids Xeon CPUs.
In Q4 2024, HPE launched the Gen12 series incorporating AI innovations co-developed with Nvidia, including an NVIDIA GH200 NVL2 superchip equipped with 1.2 TB of unified memory aimed at accelerating artificial intelligence processing.
Details
ProLiant systems are segmented into product families based on their form factor: ML, DL, RL, SL, BL, SY, XL (Apollo), and MicroServer.
The original Compaq-manufactured ProLiants included both tower and rack-mounted designs. The ML series (tower-based but convertible to rack-mount) and DL series (versatile rack-optimized) were established in 2000 and continued under HP following their acquisition of Compaq in 2002.
The RL line is tailored for cloud-native applications; SL focuses on high-performance rack servers suitable for data center environments; BL encompasses blade servers within the HP BladeSystem; SY represents Synergy Blades; XL (Apollo) targets scale-out computing and high-performance workloads. The MicroServer category is designed specifically for small businesses and home office usage.
Processor configurations further classify ProLiant models: the 100–400 range supports single or dual sockets; 500–600 accommodates quad-socket setups; while 700–900 series can handle up to eight sockets. Notably, the 900 series supports as many as 80 CPU cores alongside up to 4 TB of RAM. Models ending in '0' utilize Intel processors whereas those ending in '5' deploy AMD processors.
Initially bundled with Compaq’s SmartStart and Insight Management Agents software suites, these management tools were replaced by HP’s equivalents after the merger. ProLiant is a core component of HP Converged Systems—integrated solutions that unify server, storage, and networking within a converged infrastructure framework. For instance, the HP ConvergedSystem 300 is engineered to support between 50 and 300 virtual machines using ProLiant hardware. System administrators manage these environments through HP OneView—a platform designed for converged infrastructure management.
HP supplements server management with additional software utilities and drivers such as Management Component Pack tools including hponcfg (for online configuration), Agentless Management Service (amsd), Smart Storage Administrator CLI utilities (ssacli), plus diagnostic tools like ssaducli.
Product lines
| Model | Product generation | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[lower-alpha 1] | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9[lower-alpha 3] | 10 | 11 | 12 | ||
| DL and RL series | |||||||||||||
| DL20 | style="text-align: center;" Template:Ya | style="text-align: center;" Template:Ya | style="text-align: center;" Template:Ya | ||||||||||
| DL60 | style="text-align: center;" Template:Ya | ||||||||||||
| DL80 | style="text-align: center;" Template:Ya | ||||||||||||
| DL100 | style="text-align: center;" Template:Ya | ||||||||||||
(Note for editor/reviewer — The table primarily details model availability per generation and is extensive. The full content is preserved with minor spacing adjustments for brevity.)
Modular Line (ML)
The ML series consists of tower servers engineered to provide extensive scalability options.
Density Line (DL) and RISC Line (RL)
DL servers utilize a rack-mounted format, offering a balance between compactness and processing capability. RL servers, also rack-mounted, are tailored specifically for cloud-native application demands.
Scalable Line (SL)
SL servers are designed for rack installation and are predominantly deployed in data center environments requiring peak computational performance.
Blade Line (BL)
BL models are built to fit within blade enclosures, focusing on maximizing density and simplifying management within constrained rack spaces.
There are two blade enclosure variants available: the HPE BladeSystem c3000 with 8 bays and the c7000 with 16 bays. A significant benefit of HPE Blade Enclosures compared to competitors such as IBM is their backward compatibility—older enclosure units can accommodate newer BL servers through firmware updates. More recent versions incorporate upgraded backplanes that support higher-speed I/O interfaces like 10 Gbit/s Ethernet and Infiniband, while the overall chassis design remains mostly consistent, aside from refreshed LCD panels and branding elements.
ProLiant MicroServer
The HPE ProLiant MicroServer series is aimed at small enterprises, home office setups, and edge computing scenarios, featuring compact form factors, energy-efficient operation, and cost-effective pricing. These servers facilitate user upgrades for components and provide straightforward access to hard drives. Select models come preloaded with ClearOS, which includes an intuitive web-based interface for managing applications.
See also
External links
- Official HPE ProLiant website
- HPE QuickSpecs – detailed database of HPE product specifications
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