HP's StorageWorks XP12000 is bulletproof -- they checked

If you've been looking for a server solution that can stand up to the odd gun fight or three (haven't we all?), HP has just the thing for you. See, they grew tired of just tossing around the term "bulletproof" for their half-million dollar StorageWorks XP12000, and decided they'd pop a .308 caliber bullet through it to prove their point. They fired up the server and got it pumping out a few video streams, and then shot it clean through while the server kept on streaming, thanks to a little bit of server redundancy. The bullet made it through the array and shattered a fish tank on the other side, but HP assures us in their must-see video of the incident that no animals or humans were harmed in the making of this film, so it looks like the goldfish made it out ok -- though we're sure he would've dropped a few frames if they put a bullet through him, the slacker.

[Via The Inquirer]

[Darth Poo @ Apr 21st 2006 9:14PM]

Now our fighting men and women can take a direct hit from an IED and keep on watching their DVD rips.

[Vincent Richards @ Apr 21st 2006 10:55PM]

The download speeds for that video are horrific. I have an 8 Mbit cable connection and I'm getting .3 KB/s. Anyone have any alternate links?

[noname989 @ Apr 21st 2006 10:59PM]

Bulletproof yes. Engadget proof no.

[billy @ Apr 21st 2006 10:59PM]

jee they could have used a .50 bmg AP round

[Tony Rayo @ Apr 21st 2006 11:06PM]

To #2, well I just nyud-ified the link, so I hope this helps - http://h30067.www3.hp.com.nyud.net:8090/AllEntries//wmv/5785060306.wmv

[Santiago @ Apr 21st 2006 11:54PM]

there's a bullet hole in it. how is that bulletproof? ok, it has some redundancy that makes it survive a bullet wound, but that is not the same thing as bulletproof.

[Asher M. @ Apr 22nd 2006 1:22AM]

Wow. I guess that shows hp makes good machines. but, it would be interesting to know if it can witstand a fire or a bomb or something, cause that might me more plausible than a 0.308 cal. bullet right in the center. Anyways, who am I to say that.

[nosidam @ Apr 22nd 2006 1:23AM]

#6...quote from the video..."The term "Bullet Proof" used in this video refers to the term used in the IT industry and refers to extremly stable hardware and/or software."

[Asher M. @ Apr 22nd 2006 1:36AM]

He was only pointing to the irony of the word bulletproof for this system that had one pass right through it. I wouldnt place it out of context. we all know, i hope, what it means in the computer industry.

[Lucasz @ Apr 22nd 2006 4:07AM]

Uh yeah so they set up a silly test to shoot the thing in a blank part of a pcb? I find it a little too convenient that they didn't shoot through something important. Give me a gun and a bullet and I'll find a place to shoot that sucker that will get your video to stop streaming. Sorry I'm not impressed, I'm not buying one.

[Kev50027 @ Apr 22nd 2006 4:15AM]

That is the biggest pile of bull I've seen in a long time. The video is a joke, with the announcer making it sound like the server is actually any good.

Just because it's redundant it's bulletproof? That's like saying I can have 2 20" monitors next to eachother, and I shoot one and the other STILL WORKS!! it must be bulletproof!

I also find it funny that while their server may be "bulletproof" using their definition, it sure is slow as hell.. the video download speeds are terrible, and they're advertising a server? haha!

[Si @ Apr 22nd 2006 6:43AM]

That's a seriously cheesy video. And I'd prefer to see the test performed with the bullet fired into a random location in the server instead of a carefully selected and marked area selected by HP's engineers.

[Armin @ Apr 22nd 2006 6:52AM]

Buleltproof means that it STOPS a bullet, this is not bulletproof at all, it can just take a bullet and keep on going, like... a car.

[cf18 @ Apr 22nd 2006 7:20AM]

May be Nortel, Alcatel etc should make some video with a optical ring network that will not be affected by blowing up a node with a bomb, and then call it "terrorist proof".

[Nicolas Letarte @ Apr 22nd 2006 7:37AM]

It look like a Google Maps "war disaster" satellite view !!

[Armen @ Apr 22nd 2006 9:04AM]

What is it with Americans and guns!? Once someone told me it's deep in their culture, guess he was right.

[btboy500 @ Apr 22nd 2006 9:31AM]

Armen, don't let this little video skew your view of American culture, as it doesn't represent the whole of America at all.

[Tyler @ Apr 22nd 2006 10:50AM]

Come on Americans, Look at that photo...where is it shooting out actual circutry/a cpu? The bullet hit empty space pcb.

[ozzzy @ Apr 22nd 2006 11:02AM]

Since when did this become commentary on Americans and our culture regarding firearms? It's a silly HP marketing ploy that apparently backfired in bandwidth cost and negative press reagarding the actual stability of an HP video on demand server.

BTW let us worry about our country, the world doesn't run by your culture's standards on firearms. =)

[Matthew Nitti @ Apr 22nd 2006 11:18AM]

Wow, that download is seriously slow, and it repeatedly dies. They must be using the server they shot with the gun to host the video! ;-)

Use Tony Rayo site if you want to see it in this lifetime...

[VibroKatana @ Apr 22nd 2006 2:14PM]

Maybe they should do something that isnt engineered, say a trooper hosing the server with a m249, lets see how the server will handle that!

[meshcount @ Apr 22nd 2006 2:47PM]

I wonder if that announcer does beer commercials.

[Jeff @ Apr 22nd 2006 4:33PM]

Link on HPs site died. Only got 3kbs, got it on my site for a mirror now.

http://www.cttrc.com/tools/pafiledb.php?action=category&id=5

[kyle90 @ Apr 22nd 2006 10:21PM]

Wait a minute, I've seen enough movies to know that computers explode when you shoot them.

[popeye @ Apr 23rd 2006 2:28AM]

Maybe a round of Depleted Uranium would put that sucker out of order, well placed shot or not!

[Adult web sites @ Apr 23rd 2006 4:53PM]

looks hot

[Magallanes @ Apr 23rd 2006 11:28PM]

Is quite simmilar to the computer of LOST(TV).

Anyways, this computer can resist a .308 caliber but i wonder if it resist a nerf watergun ;-)

[JBoy @ Apr 24th 2006 1:24PM]

Wow they need to marketing these things in Oakland!

[The Man @ Jun 16th 2006 3:12PM]

correct me if i'm wrong, but an XP12000 isn't a server, it's a SAN device.

That pretty much makes everyone who commented on this post an ASS device

[irq3 @ Jun 19th 2006 8:15PM]

The video implies that the XP12000 was able to transparently recover from a partial failure. But as others have said, the bullet doesn't look like it actually made anything fail, so this test seems equivalent to driving your car in the daytime after shooting out your front headlight.

And enough with these language battles over the accuracy of "bullet-proof" as a metaphor. Withstanding damage is way more bitchin than being impervious to harm, flat out.