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HP Technology Services is a business unit within the HP Enterprise Business division of Hewlett-Packard (HP), a large information technology (IT) vendor. HP Technology Services provides IT design, planning, implementation, integration and maintenance services and support for organizations and government agencies. The group also offers business and technology consulting services.

HP Enterprise Services is the global business and technology services division of Hewlett Packard's HP Enterprise Business strategic business unit. It was formed by the combination of HP's legacy services consulting and outsourcing business and the integration of acquired Electronic Data Systems, which had defined the outsourcing business when it was established in 1962 by H. Ross Perot.

Services

HP Enterprise Services regional offices in Tower 100 of theRenaissance Center in Detroit.

Partners

HP Enterprise Services has established two levels of business alliances relationships: Agility Alliances and Technology Alliances.

The Agility Alliance brings together strategic solution providers to build and deliver end to end IT solutions for HP ES customers. The list of partners consists of:Deloitte, KPMG, Microsoft, Oracle Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, SAP, and Symantec.

This effort is supported by the Top Gun Program enabling HP Enterprise Services technical personnel to dedicate 3 months of their time on joint projects with the Agility Alliance partner on a key technology problem, to create an innovative customer solution.

The Technology Alliance brings together technology partners focused on collaborating with HP ES to develop, implement and jointly market services. These technology partners are: Computer Associates, EMC, Intel, Micro Focus, Rochester Institute of Technology, Siemens, Tibco, VMware, and Xerox.

HP Enterprise Business (formerly TSG) manages enterprise and public sector customer relationships and also the sales processes across the three business segments to improve speed and effectiveness of customer delivery. HP Enterprise Business manages direct sales for value products includingUNIX, enterprise storage and software and pre-sales technical consultants, as well as direct distribution activities for commercial products and go-to-market activities with systems integrators and ISVs.

HP Enterprise Business markets its extensive line of servers, storage, networking, software and services under an initiative it calls the “Instant-On Enterprise”. This vision sees the IT department as both a builder and broker of IT services, who needs to use existing technology in the data center as well as new technologies to deliver services. According to research by Coleman Parkes, the role of information technology is shifting from a support role to becoming “one and the same” with the organizations, recognizing that most companies require technology either to grow or to remain competitive and that firms believe that technology is the key to helping them to innovate.The term “Instant-On” refers to societal trends where there is greater connection via mobile devices and the Internet, and that as a result people and businesses expect immediate gratification and instant results. This means organizations and IT have to act as one in order to react to opportunities and to best compete in the marketplace. Technology will be adopted at even faster rates and IT departments will have the challenge of keeping up. The solutions within the Instant-On Enterprise integrate across HP hardware, software, services, and intellectual property, complementing individual business unit offerings.The integrated solutions within the HP Instant-On Enterprise portfolio are sold within five categories including Application Transformation, Converged Infrastructure, Enterprise Security, Hybrid Delivery/cloud computing, and Information Optimization.

HP Enterprise Business also drives HP’s vertical sales and marketing approach in the communication, media and entertainment, financial services, manufacturing and distribution, and public sector industries as well as a number of other vertical industries.On Sept. 22, 2010, HP and McCartney Productions Limited (MPL) announced an agreement to digitize and deliver Paul McCartney’s digital library via a private cloud. The digitized library will include music, artwork and films for McCartney fans and for the entertainer’s personal use.On Aug. 19, 2011, HP announced the decision to discontinue their WebOS products, and at the same time, to start exploring new alternatives for their PSG, Personal Systems Group (manufacturing and selling notebooks, Personal computers, etc.) This is aligned to an strategic movement toward a service-oriented software company, including a USD 10 billion bid for the british company Autonomy Corporation.

The largest category of software sold by the HP Software Division is HP IT Management Software. IT management software is software that supports business objectives rather than IT goals.Other companies who develop and sell IT management software include IBM, BMC Software, Borland, CA, and Compuware.HP aligns its IT management software products into product centers. The centers and the products in each are:HP Application Lifecycle Management (HP ALM) is a software product used by IT departments for managing and automating application modernization activities.The latest version of the software, HP ALM 11.0, was released in Nov. 2010. HP ALM 11.0 is a combination of a common platform, several applications and a dashboard designed to support software developers as they move applications from design through to delivery to operations. HP ALM 11 includes products from HP Quality Center and HP Performance Center. HP ALM 11.00 provides requirements management, test planning and functional testing, performance testing (when merged with HP Performance Center), developer management (through integration with widely used developer environments such asCollabnet TeamForge and Microsoft Visual Studio) and defect management.These software lifecycle activities are connected together from a workflow perspective with a common management console, layer of project tracking and planning and built on a common software foundation containing a consistent repository and open integration architecture with a supported SDK.HP Business Service Automation is a set of technology software products used for unifying and standardizing the work of Information Technology (IT). HP Business Service Automation creates a common, enterprise-wide view of each business service; enables the automation of change and compliance across the devices that make up a business service; connects IT processes and coordinates teams via common workflows; and integrates with monitoring and ticketing tools to form an integrated business service management package.HP Application Security Center consists of products that were formerly part of the SPI Dynamics software company portfolio. The Application Security Center catalog includes DevInspect, Assessment Platform, QAInspect and WebInspect.

HP Business Availability Center includes several application management products: HP Business Service Management Software, Business Process Monitor, Business Process Insight, Discovery and Dependency Mapping, End User Management Problem Isolation, HP SiteScope, System Availability Management, TransactionVision and HP Universal CMDB software, a configuration management database for ITIL-based initiatives.

HP Data Center Automation Center consists of Business Service Automation Essentials, Network Automation, Server Automation, Service Automation Reporter, Service Automation Visualizer, Storage Essentials, Operations Orchestration and Release Control software.HP Network Management Center consists of the following products previously branded as HP OpenView: Network Node Manager, Performance Insight, TeMIP, Report Pack for Cisco Wireless LAN Pack, and Report Pack for Radius Call Detail v 1.3.

HP Operations Center catalog includes a number of products from its 2007 acquisition of Opsware: Discovery and Dependency Mapping, GlancePlus Pak,Operations Dashboard, Operations Manager Dependency Mapping Automation, Operations Manager i 8.0, Operations Smart Plug-ins, Performance Manager, Reporter, HP SiteScope, and HP Universal CMDB.HP Performance Center consists of four products gained from HP's 2006 purchase of Mercury Interactive: Center Management for Performance Center, HP Diagnostics, HP LoadRunner Monitors, and HP LoadRunner.

HP Project and Portfolio Management Center(PPM) consists of nine products, many from HP's Mercury acquisition. The HP PPM catalog includes HP Deployment Management module, Discovery and Dependency Mapping software, PPM Demand Management module, PPM Financial Management module, PPM Portfolio Management module, PPM Program Management module, PPM Project Management module, PPM Resource Management module, and PPM Time Management module.HP Quality Center includes HP Business Process Testing, Center Management for Quality Center software, Change Impact Testing for SAP Applications, HP Functional Testing software, HP QuickTest Professional, Requirements Management module, Service Test Management module for SOA, Service Test and HP WinRunner software.

HP SOA Service-oriented architecture Center includes SOA Governance Interoperability Framework, SOA Policy Enforcer, SOA Registry Foundation, SOA Systinet and HP Universal CMDB software. The Systinet product is a result of HP's purchase of Mercury Interactive.HP Service Management Center includes Asset Manager, HP Connect-It software, DecisionCenter, HP Client Automation Software and Service Manager software.HP Business Service Management 9.0, announced by HP Software Division in June 2010, is composed of HP Business Availability Center 9.0 (BAC), HP Operations Manager i 9.0 (OMi) and HP Network Management Center (NMC) 9.0 software products. HP BSM 9.0 works as a common single platform for managing complex applications, including those supported by both private and publiccloud computing, outsourced IT, software-as-a-service (Saas) and traditional IT service delivery.HP Software cloud computing portfolio consists of a number of software, services and third-party integrations designed to help IT departments adopt and manage cloud computing implementations, both public and private, as well managing traditional IT delivery.HP Software Division markets its cloud initiatives using a lifecycle approach.For planning and design of a cloud strategy and architecture, HP offers the HP Cloud Discovery Workshop, HP Cloud Roadmap Service, HP Cloud Design Service and HP Service Management Consulting Services. HP sells two software packages for automating and managing cloud infrastructure and applications, HP Cloud Service Automation Software and HP Business Technology Optimization Services for Cloud Infrastructure. Two services, HP Cloud Assure and HP Elastic Test, are designed for securing cloud-based services.HP LoadRunner in the Cloud is another cloud offering from HP Software Division. In May 2010, HP announced that an on-demand version of the application performance testing software would be available via Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud.

Information Management Products

Information Management software is used to organize, protect, retrieve, acquire, manage and maintain information. The amount of data that companies have to deal with has grown tremendously over the past decade, making the management of this information more difficult. The University of California at Berkeley claims the amount of information produced globally increases by 30 percent annually. According to Julian Stuhler, director of Triton Consulting, data enterprise servers will “grow at a staggering 60 percent per year, resulting in 14 exabytes of corporate data by 2011.”Because of this Information explosion IT companies have created technology to help business manage this ever-expanding data.

HP Information Management Software consists of a portfolio of two main categories, business continuity and availability, and governance and E-discovery.Business Continuity has one main offering, the HP Data Protector software that automates high-performance backup and recovery from disk or tape to enable 24x7 business continuity. This software can be used any size business as it can grow from a single server environment to the largest distributed enterprise infrastructure.Governance and E-Discovery software helps companies meet the requirements of legal Electronic discovery and compliance regulations. The software meets the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM)for capturing, classifying, preserving, finding, analyzing and recovering information. Products include HP TRIM Records Management System for electronic document management and Records Management, HP Integrated Archive Platform for compliance archiving, and HP Clearwell E-Discovery Platform for legal analytics.

HP has successful lines of printers, scanners, digital cameras, calculators, PDAs, servers, workstation computers, and computers for home and small business use; many of the computers came from the 2002 merger with Compaq. HP today promotes itself as supplying not just hardware and software, but also a full range of services to design, implement, and support IT infrastructure.HP's Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) is "the leading imaging and printing systems provider in the world for printer hardware, printing supplies and scanning devices, providing solutions across customer segments from individual consumers to small and medium businesses to large enterprises." Products and technology associated with IPG include Inkjetand LaserJet printers, consumables and related products, Officejet all-in-one multifunction printer/scanner/faxes, Designjet and Scitex Large Format Printers, Indigo Digital Press, HP Web Jetadmin printer management software, HP Output Management suite of software, LightScribe optical recording technology, HP Photosmart digital cameras and photo printers, HP SPaM, and Snapfish by HP, a photo sharing and photo products service. On December 23, 2008, HP released iPrint Photo for iPhone a free downloadable software application that allows the printing of 4" x 6" photos.HP's Personal Systems Group (PSG) claims to be "one of the leading vendors of personal computers ("PCs") in the world based on unit volume shipped and annual revenue."PSG includes business PCs and accessories, consumer PCs and accessories, (e.g., HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario, VoodooPC), handheld computing (e.g., iPAQ Pocket PC), and digital "connected" entertainment (e.g., HP MediaSmart TVs, HP MediaSmart Servers, HP MediaVaults, DVD+RW drives). HP resold the Apple iPod until November 2005.HP Enterprise Business (EB) incorporates HP Technology Services, Enterprise Services (an amalgamation of the former EDS, and what was known as HP Services), HP Software Division, and Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking Group (ESSN). The Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking Group (ESSN) oversees "back end" products like storage and servers. HP's networking business unit ProCurve is responsible for the family of network switches, wireless access points, and routers.They ae currently a business unit of ESSN.An HP camera with an SDIO interface.HP Software Division is the company's enterprise software unit. For years, HP has produced and marketed its brand of enterprise management software, HP OpenView. From September 2005 through 2010, HP purchased a total of 15 software companies between as part of a publicized, deliberate strategy to augment its software offerings for large business customers. HP Software sells three categories of software: IT performance management, IT management software and information management software. HP Software also provides consulting, Software as a service, cloud computing solutions, education and support services.

HP's Office of Strategy and Technology has four main functions: steering the company's $3.6 billion research and development investment, fostering the development of the company's global technical community, leading the company's strategy and corporate development efforts, and performing worldwide corporate marketing activities. Under this office is HP Labs, the research arm of HP. Founded in 1966, HP Labs's function is to deliver new technologies and to create business opportunities that go beyond HP's current strategies. An example of recent HP Lab technology includes the Memory spot chip. HP IdeaLab further provides a web forum on early-state innovations to encourage open feedback from consumers and the development community.

HP also offers managed services where they provide complete IT-support solutions for other companies and organisations. Some examples of these are: A large activity is HP offering "Professional Support" and desktop "Premier Support" for Microsoft in the EMEA marketplace. This is done from the Leixlip campus near Dublin, Sofia and Israel. Support is offered on the line of Microsoft operation systems, Exchange, Sharepoint and some office-applications. But HP also offers outsourced services for companies like Bank of Ireland, some UK banks, the U.S. defense forces, etc.

Culture

The founders, known to friends and employees alike as Bill and Dave, developed a unique management style that came to be known as The HP Way. In Bill's words, the HP Way is "a core ideology ... which includes a deep respect for the individual, a dedication to affordable quality and reliability, a commitment to community responsibility, and a view that the company exists to make technical contributions for the advancement and welfare of humanity."The following are the tenets of The HP Way:

We have trust and respect for individuals.

We focus on a high level of achievement and contribution.

We conduct our business with uncompromising integrity.

We achieve our common objectives through teamwork.

We encourage flexibility and innovation.

Corporate social responsibility

In July 2007, the company announced that it had met its target, set in 2004, to recycle one billion pounds of electronics, toner and ink cartridges. It has set a new goal of recycling a further two billion pounds of hardware by the end of 2010. In 2006, the company recovered 187 million pounds of electronics, 73 percent more than its closest competitor.

In 2008, HP released its supply chain emissions data – an industry first In September 2009, Newsweek ranked HP No.1 on its 2009 Green Rankings of America's 500 largest corporations. According to environmentalleader.com, "Hewlett-Packard earned its number one position due to its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction programs, and was the first major IT company to report GHG emissions associated with its supply chain, according to the ranking. In addition, HP has made an effort to remove toxic substances from its products, though Greenpeace has targeted the company for not doing better."

HP took the top spot on Corporate Responsibility Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens List for 2010. The list is cited by PR Week as one of America's most important business rankings. HP beat out other Russell 1000 Index companies because of its leadership in seven categories including environment, climate changes and corporate philanthropy. In 2009, HP was ranked fifth.Fortune magazine named HP one of the World’s Most Admired Companies in 2010, placing it No. 2 in the computer industry and No. 32 overall in its list of the top 50. This year in the computer industry HP was ranked No. 1 in social responsibility, long-term investment, global competitiveness, and use of corporate assets.In May 2011, HP released its latest Global Responsibility report covering accomplishments during 2010. The report, the company’s tenth, provides a comprehensive view of HP’s global citizenship programs, performance, and goals and describes how HP uses its technology, influence, and expertise to make a positive impact on the world. The company’s 2009 report won best corporate responsibility report of the year. The 2009 reports claims HP decreased its total energy use by 9 percent compared with 2008. HP recovered a total of 118,000 tonnes of electronic products and supplies for recycling in 2009, including 61 million print cartridges.

In an April 2010 San Francisco Chronicle article, HP was one of 12 companies commended for "designing products to be safe from the start, following the principles of green chemistry." The commendations came from Environment California, an environmental advocacy group, who praised select companies in the Golden State and the Bay Area for their efforts to keep our planet clean and green.In May 2010, HP was named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute. This is the second year in a row HP has made the list. Ethisphere reviewed, researched and analyzed thousands of nominations in more than 100 countries and 35 industries to create the 2010 list. HP was one of only 100 companies to earn the distinction of top winner and was the only computer hardware vendor to be recognized. Ethisphere honors firms that promote ethical business standards and practices by going beyond legal minimums, introducing innovative ideas that benefit the public.HP is listed in Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics that ranks electronics manufacturers according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change. In October 2010, HP secured the 4th place (out of 18) in this ranking (climbing up 4 places) with an increased score of 5.5 (up from 4.9). This improvement was mainly caused by the progress in bringing products that are free from PVC and BFRs onto the market and a new commitment to phase out beryllium and compounds by July 2011. Moreover, HP aims to complete its phase out of toxic vinyl plastic (PVC) and brominated flame retardands (BFRs) in 2011. Greenpeace gives HP credit for having many PVC and BFR-free products on the market, including a desktop PC with PVC-free power supply, several series of notebooks, another desktop and two LCD monitors. It has also recently launched the first PVC free printer.HP has earned recognition of its work in the area of data privacy and security. In 2010 the company ranked No. 4 in the Ponemon Institute's annual study of the most trusted companies for privacy. Since 2006, HP has worked directly with the U.S. Congress, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Department of Commerce to establish a new strategy for federal legislation.HP played a key role in work toward the December 2010 FTC report “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change.”After winning nine straight annual “Most Respected Company in China” awards from the Economic Observer and Peking University, HP China has added the “10 Year Contribution” award to its list of prestigious accolades. The award aims to identify companies doing business in China with outstanding and sustained performance in business operations, development and corporate social responsibility.

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), commonly referred to as HP, is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was founded in a one-car garage in Palo Alto by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, and is now one of the world's largest information technology companies, operating in nearly every country. HP specializes in developing and manufacturing computing, data storage, and networking hardware, designing software and delivering services. Major product lines include personal computing devices, enterprise, and industry standard servers, related storage devices, networking products, software and a diverse range of printers, and other imaging products. HP markets its products to households, small- to medium-sized businesses and enterprises directly as well as via online distribution, consumer-electronics and office-supply retailers, software partners and major technology vendors. HP also has strong services and consulting business around its products and partner products.

HP's posted net revenue in 2010 was $126.3 billion, in 2009 net revenue was $115 billion, with approximately $40 billion coming from services. In 2006, the intense competition between HP and IBM tipped in HP's favor, with HP posting revenue of US$91.7 billion,compared to $91.4 billion for IBM; the gap between the companies widened to $21 billion in 2009. In 2007, HP's revenue was $104 billion, making HP the first IT company in history to report revenues exceeding $100 billion.In 2008 HP retained its global leadership position in inkjet, laser, large format and multi-function printers market, and its leadership position in the hardware industry.Also HP became #2 globally in IT services as reported by IDC & Gartner.

Major company changes include a spin-off of part of its business as Agilent Technologies in 1999, its merger with Compaq in 2002, and the acquisition of EDS in 2008, which led to combined revenues of $118.4 billion in 2008 and a Fortune 500 ranking of 9 in 2009.In November 2009, HP announced the acquisition of 3Com;with the deal closing on April 12, 2010.On April 28, 2010, HP announced the buyout of Palm for $1.2 billion.On September 2, 2010, won its bidding war for 3PAR with a $33 a share offer ($2.07 billion) which Dell declined to match.

On August 6, 2010, CEO Mark Hurd resigned.Cathie Lesjak assumed the role of interim CEO, and on September 30, 2010, Léo Apotheker became HP's new permanent CEO and Ray Lane, Managing Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, was elected to the position of non-executive Chairman. Both appointments were effective November 1, 2010.

HP IT Management Software is a family of Enterprise software products sold by the HP Software Division of information technology company Hewlett-Packard (HP). IT management software is a family of technology that helps companies manage their IT infrastructures, the people and the processes required to reap the greatest amount of responsiveness and effectiveness from today's multi-layered and highly complex data centers. Beginning in September 2005 through 2010, HP purchased a total of 15 software companies as part of a publicized, deliberate strategy to augment its catalog of IT management software offerings for large business customers.Vertica, Inc. is the latest software company to be purchased by HP. On March 22, 2011, HP completed its acquisition of Vertica.The acquisition expands HP’s information optimization, business intelligence and analytics portfolio for enterprise companies and the public sector. According to ZDNet and IDC, HP is the world's sixth largest software company.HP IT Management Software is the largest category of software sold by the HP Software Division. The concept behind IT management software is that IT needs to support the business and be run as a business rather than a cost center. The discipline includes software to help businesses manage their IT portfolio and assets, gain greater quality from their IT, govern the processes of their IT and improve IT security, to name a few. According to ComputerWorld, IT management software is designed to help businesses align IT spend and resources based on business priorities. Other companies who develop and sell IT Management software include IBM, BMC Software, Borland, CA, and Compuware.

IT Management Software products

HP markets its IT management software products via product centers. The centers and the products in each are:HP Application Security Center consists of products that were formerly part of the SPI Dynamics software company portfolio. The Application Security Center catalog includes DevInspect, Assessment Platform, QAInspect and WebInspect.HP Business Availability Center includes several application management products: Business Service Level Management Software, Business Process Monitor, Business Process Insight, Discovery and Dependency Mapping, End User Management Problem Isolation, HP SiteScope, System Availability Management, TransactionVision and HP Universal CMDB software, a configuration management database for ITIL-based initiatives.

HP Business Service Automation is a set of technology software products that work together to present a comprehensive approach to unifying and standardizing the work of Information Technology (IT). HP Business Service Automation creates a common, enterprise-wide view of each business service; enables the automation of change and compliance across all devices that make up a business service; connects IT processes and coordinates teams via common workflows; and integrates with monitoring and ticketing tools to form a complete, integrated business service management solution.HP Data Center Automation Center consists of Business Service Automation Essentials, Network Automation, Server Automation, Service Automation Reporter, Service Automation Visualizer, Storage Essentials, Operations Orchestration and Release Control software.HP Network Management Center consists of the following products previously branded as HP OpenView:Network Node Manager, Performance Insight, Report Pack for Cisco Wireless LAN Pack, Report Pack for Radius Call Detail v 1.3., and HP TeMIP Software from HP's 2002 acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp,

HP Operations Center catalog includes a number of products from its 2007 acquisition of Opsware: Discovery and Dependency Mapping, GlancePlus Pak, Operations Dashboard, Operations Manager Dependency Mapping Automation, HP Operations Manager i 8.0, Operations Smart Plug-ins, Performance Manager, Reporter, SiteScope, and HP Universal CMDB.HP Performance Center consists of four products gained from HP's 2006 purchase of Mercury Interactive: Center Management for Performance Center, HP Diagnostics, HP LoadRunner Monitors, and HP LoadRunner.

HP Project and Portfolio Management Center (PPM) consists of nine IT portfolio management products, many from its Mercury acquisition.[15] The HP PPM catalog includes HP Deployment Management module, Discovery and Dependency Mapping software, PPM Demand Management module, PPM Financial Management module, PPM Portfolio Management module, PPM Program Management module, PPM Project Management module, PPM Resource Management module, and PPM Time Management module.HP Quality Center includes HP Business Process Testing, Center Management for Quality Center software, Change Impact Testing for SAP Applications, HP Functional Testing software, QuickTest Professional, Requirements Management module, Service Test Management module for SOA, Service Test and HP WinRunner software.

HP SOA Service-oriented architecture Center includes SOA Governance Interoperability Framework, SOA Policy Enforcer, SOA Registry Foundation, SOA Systinet and HP Universal CMDB software. The Systinet product is a result of HP's purchase of Mercury Interactive.HP Service Management Center includes Asset Manager, HP Connect-It software, DecisionCenter, HP Client Automation Software and Service Manager software.HP Business Service Management 9.0 was announced by HP Software Division in June 2010 as part of a portfolio of service management software tools that provide the IT department with end-to-end monitoring of services in the data center and the underlying infrastructure. HP BSM 9.0 was developed to serve as a common single platform for managing complex applications, including those supported by both private and public cloud computing, outsourced IT, software-as-a-service (Saas) and traditional IT service delivery.HP Application Lifecycle Management (HP ALM), is enterprise software that provides Information Technology departments with a centralized application management platform for managing and automating applications within and across teams and throughout the complete process of developing an application, all within a single workflow.The latest version of the software, released in November 2010, is HP ALM 11.0. HP ALM 11.0 is targeted at accelerating the delivery of secure, reliable modern applications. It is a combination of a common platform, several key applications and a dashboard targeted at managing the core lifecycle of applications. ALM 11.0 is designed to support the key stakeholders responsible for delivering applications as they progress through their lifecycle. It focuses on the core lifecycle from design through readiness for delivery to operations. HP ALM 11.00 delivers requirements management, test planning and functional testing, performance testing (when merged with HP Performance Center), developer management (through integration with the most widely used developer environments such as Collabnet TeamForge and Microsoft Visual Studio) and defect management.All of these core lifecycle activities are connected together from a workflow perspective with a common management console, layer of project tracking and planning and built on a common software In addition to the software solutions, HP offers a number of consulting services to support HP ALM 11.HP Software cloud portfolio was designed to help IT departments adopt and manage the entire lifecycle of the cloud, both public and private, as well managing traditional IT delivery. HP markets its cloud initiatives using a lifecycle approach. HP Cloud Discovery Workshop, HP Cloud Roadmap Service, HP Cloud Design Service and HP Service Management Consulting Services help IT departments plan and design a cloud strategy and architecture.For automating and managing cloud infrastructure and applications, HP markets HP Cloud Service Automation Software and HP Business Technology Optimization Services for Cloud Infrastructure. Two solutions, HP Cloud Assure and HP Elastic Test, are designed for securing cloud-based services.

HP SiteScope is an agentless monitoring software focused on monitoring the availability and performance of distributed IT infrastructures, including servers, operating systems, network and Internet services, applications and application components.HP SiteScope tests a web page or a series of web pages using synthetic monitoring.However, it is not limited to web applications and can be used to monitor database servers (Oracle Database, Microsoft SQL Server, etc), Unix servers, Microsoft Windows servers and many other types of hardware and software. It can export the collected data in real time to HP LoadRunner or it can be used in standalone mode. HP SiteScope collects data using agentless data collection. Using the collected data, HP SiteScope can send automated alerts and create monitoring reports showing status over time in graphical and tabular formats.HP SiteScope was originally written by Freshwater Software in 1996, a company acquired by Mercury Interactive in 2001. Mercury Interactive was subsequently acquired by Hewlett Packard (HP) in 2006. Version 10.10 was released in July 2009. HP SiteScope is now marketed by the HP Software Division.

Monitors

HP SiteScope supports more than 85 types of IT infrastructure in physical and virtual environments and can monitor servers, databases, applications, networks, web transactions, streaming technology and integration technology, as well as generic elements including files, scripts and directories. HP SiteScope monitoring supports mid-tier processes, URLs, utilization of servers and response time of the mid-tier processes. Users can set thresholds for specific characteristics and be alerted for critical or warning conditions.

Solution Templates

HP SiteScope comes with 25 solution templates for monitoring IT infrastructure elements, including Oracle, Microsoft Exchange, SAP, WebLogic, and Unix and Linux operating systems.Solution templates are for rapidly deploying specific monitoring based on best practice methodologies.

After HP's acquisition of Compaq, the 1900 series was the answer to Palm's budget units. A smaller, slimmer frame made it more competitive in terms of portability. The HP devices contained 64 MB of main memory, larger than all other budget units, and ran PPC2002 (H1910 only) or 2003. They introduced removable batteries, allowing the user to buy extra batteries and swap as necessary. Unlike older iPAQs, many existing iPAQ accessories were incompatible or unsupported due to the budget nature of the new series. The H1900 series did not implement support for RS232, so many GPS devices are incompatible with the handhelds in the series. Only the rx1950/rx1955 had a serial interface implemented.

HP iPAQ H5500 series

A corrected version of the 5400 series with double the RAM (128 MB) running on PPC2003, PXA255 CPU.

The 5500 showing the logon screen, requiring a fingerprint

HP iPAQ H5100 series

A cutdown version of the 5500 series, without Wi-Fi support and the extra RAM (only 64 MB). iPAQ Backup allows for safe, easy, automatic data copying

HP iPAQ H2200 series

Targeting the general consumer, the 2200 series is almost every bit as capable as their corporate counterparts (less RAM, no integrated Wi-Fi, no biometric scanner). Main memory size was 64 MB RAM, PPC2003, better support for iPAQ accessories than the 1900 series though still no iPAQ expansion "sleeve" support. Bluetooth, SD card and CompactFlash card support built-in. There is an advanced IR port built into the h2210,the h2212e and the h2215, and the software bundle includes a program which essentially turns this device into a universal remote control.

HP iPAQ H4300 series

Similar to the 2200 series in terms of features, the 4300 series targets the corporate audience by having a beefier battery and integrated Wi-Fi in addition to Bluetooth. No CompactFlash reader, but does have a SD-card and SDIO slot. A thumb keyboard is integrated into the device.

HP iPAQ H4100 series

Essentially the corporate version of the 1900 series with many of the functionalities that were stripped from the budget unit. Also adds Wi-Fi and SDIO. Closer to the 4300-series internally. It came with PPC2003.

HP iPAQ hx2000 series

Aimed at the business market, this series of PDAs supports built-in Wi-Fi (but not in the hx21xx sequence), Bluetooth, SD Card and CF Card slots, and Windows Mobile 2003 SE. Some have included a Microsoft Windows CE 5.0 firmware upgrade disc. The different models have some different features.

HP iPAQ hx21xx sequence

This series of PDAs sported only the barebones set of features listed above, and ran a slower 312 MHz XScale PXA270 processor. No fingerprint reader or Wi-Fi and only 64 MB of memory.

HP iPAQ hx24xx sequence

520 MHz PXA270 CPU, 64 MB RAM and ROM. WiFi and Bluetooth.

HP iPAQ hx27xx sequence

A very full featured business class PDA. Sporting a 624 MHz Intel PXA270 XScale processor, 128 MB of RAM and ROM (each), bluetooth, WiFI and a built-in biometric fingerprint reader, this model set is aimed at high-security and -performance enterprises. The fingerprint reader, with the proprietary HP ProtectTools software, can create "encrypted folders" in RAM or on storage cards (in these models' case, the iPAQ File Store, the SD Card, or the CF Card) to prevent anyone from swiping the memory cards and reading sensitive company-critical data. The processor, running at the aforementioned 624 MHz, helps with the encryption/decryption processes (HP ProtectTools can also encrypt the entire contents of the onboard memory).

HP iPAQ hx4700 series

The hx4700 series was designed to replace the corporate-targeted 5500 line. Specifications included a sturdy magnesium-alloy casing, 4-inch diagonal VGA screen at 65K colors, integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 1.2, MMC and Secure Digital slot with SDIO, Compact Flash slot, 64 MB of RAM and 128 MB of ROM, and an Intel XScale PXA270 624 MHz processor. The unit ships with a removable 1800 mAh battery in the original package, with a 3600 mAh extended battery as an option. The hx4700 is known as the first and only Windows Mobile PDA with a dual-mode touchpad. By design, models of this series are not compatible with previous IPAQ jacket accessories, but the proprietary USB connector at the bottom is still the same. No case is included in the factory-shipped box; the unit comes with a screen cover only. 3.5 mm headphone jack accepts iPaq 55xx series 4-pin plugs. At first release, the hx4700 units ran Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. Pocket Informant 2005, built-in encryption software were also included. The after-market NEVO TV (remote control software) is incompatible with the Fast IR included with the device, as NEVO Remote requires Consumer IR. In April 2006 HP finally issued a Windows Mobile 5 upgrade option for hx4700 users, available at the HP website. The upgrade included updates for most of the other included software, including Pocket Informant. In June 2007 an unaffiliated Russian programmer updated the WM5 ROM to a much improved WM5 AKU 3.5, thereby fixing many problems the earlier WM5 (AKU 2.02) had been plagued with and giving an old device a "second life."In August 2007, the same Russian programmer released a WM6 ROM for the hx4700, which was in its fourth revision as of January 2008.In October 2007 a so called "ROM kitchen" was adapted for the hx4700 using the above WM6 ROM.

HP iPAQ rz1700 series

The HP iPAQ rz1700 series is a series of PocketPC's that were designed for the budget user. They have 32MB of RAM which has been divided into 22 MB volatile and 10 MB non-volatile that was known as iPAQ File Store, a built-in microphone, a SDIO slot, 3.5 mm headphone jack, a 3 inch 240x320 colour screen capable of displaying 65,355 colours and a 203 MHz Samsung processor. The PocketPC's were shipped with Windows Mobile 2003 SE which included all of the standard programs such as Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, a PIM etc. They also came with Macromedia Flash Player for mobile and a redesigned home screen that the user could turn on and off depending on whether or not the user wanted it.

HP iPAQ rx4000, rx3100, rx3400 and rx3700 series

Billed as "Mobile Media Companions", some of these models feature Nevo personal media software, onboard 1.2 megapixel cameras (rx3400 and rx3700), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and an onboard Secure Digital card slot for extra documents or media. The rx4240 and rx4250 are great medium entry PDAs: bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Windows Mobile 5, Mobile Office and heaps more are preloaded. The rx4000 range features a Samsung 400 MHz Processor, and boasts a larger 128 MB ROM and 64 MB SDRAM, Up to 64 MB user-available memory on the 4240. The rx3100 and rx3400 had 32 MB of RAM and 300 MHz processors, whereas the rx3700 had 64 MB of RAM and a 400 MHz processor. The latter also came with a 1440 mAh battery as standard, rather than the rx3400's 920 mAh unit. These models have been known to suffer from a bug related to the way the iPAQ File Store, the rx3700's ROM, operates and manages files. This bug prevents the user from deleting or renaming files on the ROM, causing significant deficiencies in its operation. This bug is known by HP, but there is not yet an official solution for the problem. The current version of the Windows Mobile 2003 SE operating system has been known to cause issues with Bluetooth functionality. Some patches have been released by the manufacturer, such as for Bluetooth headphones, but others, such as connectivity with HP GPS devices, have not been released. The devices continue to be non-functional for these models despite being published as compatible.

HP iPAQ h6300 series

Ipaq h6340

Pocket PC Phone. Contains a GSM phone, 64 MB RAM, 168 MHz Texas Instruments OMAP processor, and comes with a detachable thumb keyboard. Also includes VGA quality camera and 1800 mAh battery. It has built in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (802.11b). T-Mobile used to sell the h6315 but has decided to withdraw it from the market. The firmware was never updated to remove all of the bugs which cause sporadic behaviour, including dropped calls, not answering calls, turning off, erasing all user memory (factory reset), etc. Variants include the h6340 which is sold in parts of Europe without a camera through normal distribution points- hence is not carrier specific. The h6365 has identical specifications to the h6315 but it is not signed to a carrier.

HP iPAQ Mobile Messenger hw6500 series

This iPAQ is the first Pocket PC phone to have built in Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities with support for NMEA. When no GPS signal is available the device attempts to calculate its location by switching to cell triangulation. It has an integrated keyboard and unique 240x240 resolution. It may seem that the screen size can be an advantage regarding the standby time, but there are reports that actually many software products do not work on this device as they should because they were created for the standard 320x240 resolution (menus are not fully visible, hidden buttons- sort of problems). However this issue can be resolved via 3rd party virtual screen applications enabling you to scroll down to the truncated buttons. It has two card slots SD SDIO and mini-SD and like its predecessor the h6300, two versions are/were available: one with camera and one without. Most notably, compared to the previous model, this unit does not have internal support for WiFi. Specifications can be found . This unit, as with most similar units, comes in a variety of languages. For a number of reasons, including the assurance of price in higher priced markets, languages are designed to not be changeable on the units. For example, if you have a unit with a German operating system, you cannot "officially" change the language. The language can, however, be changed to English at this time by flashing the ROM using upgrades released by HP.

HP iPAQ Mobile Messenger hw6900 series

These units entered the market in late 2006. Anticipated specifications can be found Like other iPAQs released in the prior to this one, this unit has internal support for WiFi as well as Windows Mobile 5. It includes a GSM phone, Bluetooth, and GPS built-in. The IPAQ HW6915 is available in the market as of 2007.

HP iPAQ rw6800 series

In addition to mobile messaging, the rw6828 offers virtually every connectivity option under the sun, including tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) GSM, GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth 1.2, Infrared and 802.11b Wi-Fi. All of these features can be turned off, which not only conserves battery power but also enables users to operate the device like a regular PDA during air travel. Naturally, the phone/push-e-mail combination puts the device in direct competition with the BlackBerry. However, one qualm that we've always had with the BlackBerry is that its lack of multimedia features alienates non-corporate users and even corporate customers that use their device for non-work purposes. Although RIM promises that a "prosumer" BlackBerry is in the works, HP has beaten it to the punch with the rw6828, which offers a slew of multimedia functions. Audio playback is catered for by an integrated FM radio and PocketMusic MP3 playback software. These can be tapped into using either a regular set of headphones or the integrated dual stereo speakers, and both options offer up impressive sound quality. You'll want to buy an expansion card to stick into the device's mini-SD slot, however, as it only comes with 128MB of flash ROM. These audio features are certainly attractive, but make no mistake, it won't replace the intuitive interface and long battery life of your current MP3 player. But that's OK, since HP reps said it themselves at the launch event in Hong Kong -- "we're not targeting iPod." In addition to audio, the rw6828 also supports video playback using any Windows Mobile 5 media player software such as VLC. Again, picture quality is pleasing and playback is smooth. Rounding out the device's excellent multimedia feature-set is an integrated HP 2.0-megapixel camera with a flash and self-portrait mirror. This is similar to the O2 Atom's camera offering, and while shots are suitable for e-mailing around to your mates, the quality is distinctly underwhelming and you certainly won't be making prints of any photographs. Since the device runs on Windows Mobile 5 Phone Edition, it also comes with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer and Outlook 2002 pre-installed. These are handy for those that need to stay productive whilst on the move, and offer more features than many of the third-party software offerings available for the BlackBerry. However, keep in mind that the mobile version of PowerPoint only allows you to view, not edit, presentations, so don't bank on making last-minute modifications before entering the board room.

HP iPAQ rx4000 series

HP iPAQ rx5000 series

HP iPAQ rx5900

Dubbed the travel companion, this series of iPAQ PocketPC from HP has a built in GPS navagation system, 802.11 B/G wireless, Bluetooth 2.0, a 400 MHz Samsung processor, Windows Mobile 5.0, and anywhere from 64 MB to 2 GB of internal memory. It also has an integrated microphone and speaker, with a 3.5 mm headphone jack, an SD slot, and a 1700 mAh removable battery.

HP iPAQ 100 Series Classic Handheld

Ipaq 112

This is the simplest series of iPAQs in the revamped iPAQ line. It features the following:Processor: Marvell PXA310, 624 MHz
ROM: 256MB
RAM: 64MB for running applications
Display: 3.5-inch QVGA TFT with touch screen, portrait oriented
Wireless LAN: 802.11b/g 1,2
Bluetooth: v2.0 with EDR
Headphone jack: 3.5mm 4-pin
Connector: mini-USB
Battery: 1200mAh, removable/rechargeable
Expansion: SDIO, high-capacity
Speaker, microphone (In some countries,microphone is blocked by HP.)
Input: touch, stylus
Buttons: 5-way navigation with press to activate, 4 programmable, voice recorder, power, reset
LED: 2 multi-light
Operating system: Windows Mobile 6 Classic Edition

HP iPAQ 200 Series Enterprise Handheld

Known as the Enterprise Handheld, this series features a Marvell 624 MHz PXA310 XScale ARM Processor, 256 MB ROM and 128MB of RAM. It also features Bluetooth and 802.11b/g wireless connectivity and Windows Mobile 6.0 Classic. Model: HP iPAQ 200 Enterprise Handheld
Operating System : Windows Mobile 6 Classic
Screen Size: 4 inch
Weight: 6.8 ounces
Processor: Marvell 624 MHz PXA310 XScale ARM
Battery: 2200 mAh battery It includes both SD (SDIO and also supports SDHC memory cards) and CompactFlash card slots. While the iPaq connector may appear to be the same as the one on the hx4700 model it replaces, it is not.

HP iPAQ 300 Series Travel Companion

This is the first HP iPAQ which is not a PDA. It is a device meant solely for navigation. Users can synchronize their Contacts with a Host PC's Outlook using a HP proprietary utility. The www.iPAQ.com portal was also simultaneously launched to complement the functionality of the device and to deliver updates. HP does not support the installation of third-party applications on the device. All have been discontinued and HP will no longer offer navigation only devices.

Features:

Operating System : Windows CE 5.0 with an HP-built custom user interface.

Processor: SiRF Titan 600 MHz ARM11 dual-core processor
ROM: 2GB (user available memory varies based on maps installed)
RAM: 128MB
Display: 4.3-inch WVGA 800x480 TFT with touch screen, antiglare, landscape orientation, 16bit RGB depth
Bluetooth: v2.0 with EDR1
Headphone jack: 3.5mm 3-pin for stereo and microphone
Connector: mini-USB
Battery: 1700mAh, removable
Expansion: SD, high-capacity, supports SDHC class 2, class 4, and class 6 memory cards
Speaker: 1, large for navigation volume
Microphone: 1, positioned speakerphone, echo cancellation
Input: touch, stylus
Buttons: power, reset, scroll wheel
LEDs: 2 - 1 blue for wireless, 1 dual-color for charge (amber for charging, green for fully charged)

HP iPAQ 500 Series Voice Messenger

Introduced in the first half of 2007, the iPAQ 500 Series Voice Messenger was the first iPAQ from HP running the Windows Mobile 6 Operating System. It is also the first and currently, the only iPAQ which runs the SmartPhone version of the Windows Mobile series of Operating Systems from Microsoft. Unlocked phones purchased from HP or 3rd party vendors are "app locked", preventing some 3rd party software from being installed. There are unlocking utilities available on the internet. It has been discontinued by HP. Features:Smartphone with 12-function keys
Operating System : Windows Mobile 6 Standard
Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE wireless radio with automatic band transition1,2,3,4
WiFi: 802.11 b/g with WPA2 security. GPRS connects to the internet by default regardless of any available wi-fi & must be disabled via a 3rd party utility.
Bluetooth: Bluetooth v1.2 wireless technology
Processor: TI OMAP 850 Processor 200 MHz
Expansion: Micro-SD slot (memory only)
Camera: Integrated 1.3 MP
Battery: Li-ion 1100 mAh
Display: 2.0" micro-reflective TFT 176x220 with 64K color LED backlight

HP iPAQ 600 Series Business Navigator

The device features a revolutionary touch-wheel interface on the numeric keypad. Also, the HP Enterprise Mobility Agent is included which helps businesses deliver updates to multiple devices simultaneously from a central location. Devices with model numbers ending in c come with an in-built camera, such as 610c, 612c, 614c. Features: 3G wireless broadband connectivity for voice and data

• • Tri-band HSDPA 7.2 Mbit/s (850/1900/2100 MHz)
  • Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

Wireless LAN: IEEE 802.11 b/g5
Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR1
Assisted GPS (A-GPS) navigation
Operating System: Windows Mobile 6 Professional
Navigation: Smart Touch Wheel, 3-way thumb wheel, touchscreen, and 12-key numeric pad
Display: 2.8-inch 240x320 TFT color touch screen
Camera: 3 Megapixel autofocus (optional)
Battery: 1590 mAh Li-ion
RAM: 128MB SDRAM
ROM: 256MB Flash ROM
Expansion: Micro-SD (SDHC)
Interface: Mini-USB connector for charge/sync

HP iPAQ 900 Series Business Messenger

The 900 Series Business Messenger is very similar in features to the 600 Series Business Navigator, in that the 900 Series also has 3G capabilities, A-GPS navigation, runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional, cameras are included only with models ending in c and the HP Enterprise Mobility Agent can be used to deliver updates to several devices from a central location. Features: 3G wireless broadband connectivity for voice and data

• • Tri-band HSDPA 3.6/7.2 Mbit/s (850/1900/2100 MHz)
  • Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

Wireless LAN: IEEE 802.11 b/g with WPA2 security
Bluetooth: v2.0 with EDR1
Navigation: Assisted GPS (A-GPS)
Operating System: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
Navigation: Alphanumeric keyboard, scroll wheel, 5-way navigation, 2 soft keys
Display: 2.46-inch 320x240 TFT color touch panel
Camera: 3 Megapixel autofocus (select models)
Battery: 1940 mAh Lithium-ion
Processor: Marvell PXA270 Processor at 416Mhz
RAM: 128MB SDRAM
ROM: 256MB Flash ROM
Expansion: Micro-SD card slot
Interface: Mini-USB connector for charge/sync

Models

HP MediaSmart Server EX490

HP MediaSmart Server EX490 packaging

HP MediaSmart Server EX490 hard disk bay

As of October 2008, the HP MediaSmart Server is sold in two models, EX470 (RRP US$599) and EX475 (RRP US$749). They feature a 1.8GHz AMD Sempron 3400+ processor, one Gigabit Ehernet port, four internal SATA drive bays, four USB 2.0 ports and one eSATA port.The two models are identical with the exception of the amount of included storage: the EX470 has one 500GB hard drive preinstalled, while the EX475 has two 500GB hard drives preinstalled.

Hackers and enthusiasts have modded the EX470 by adding a VGA monitor, upgrading the memory from 512MB to 2GB and upgrading the processor to a 2.6GHz AMD LE-1640.On December 29, 2008, HP announced two more models, the EX485 and the EX487, available for pre-orders starting on January 8, 2009. The newer models include support for Apple's Time Machine backup software. They also use a 2.0 GHz Intel Celeron processor, replacing the AMD Sempron from the old models. Other features include a revamped user interface and larger preinstalled hard drives (one 750 GB drive for the EX485; two 750 GB drives in the EX487).

On April 30, 2009, HP announced the MediaSmart Server LX195 which was intended to be a low-cost entry into the Home Server market. The new model featured a single internal 640 GB drive, a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom 230 processor, 1 GB of DDR2 memory, gigabit Ethernet, and four USB ports for storage expansion. The software features included with the LX195 are same as the initial launch features of the EX485/EX487 server.On September 14, 2009, HP launched two new MediaSmart servers. The EX490 comes with 1TB of hard disk storage and costs $549, while the EX495 comes with 1.5TB and costs $699 both 7200 rpm. The 490 comes with an Intel Celeron Processor 2.2 GHZ and the 495 with an Intel Pentium Processor Dual Core 2.5 GHz.On November 30, 2010, The Windows Home Server team at Microsoft confirmed rumors that HP would not be offering hardware for the next version of Windows Home Server (codenamed "Vail"), and that HP would stop selling MediaSmart servers altogether after the end of the calendar year 2010.

HP Universal Print Driver (UPD) is an intelligent print driver that supports a broad range of HP LaserJet printers and MFPs. Developed by HP, it combines a general purpose driver (UNIDRV or PSCRIPT) and HP proprietary extensions. The HP UPD simplifies driver deployment and management. This advanced print driver has the ability to discover HP printing devices and automatically configure itself to the device capabilities (e.g., duplex, color, finishing, etc.). The HP universal print driver is a Microsoft Windows solution that provides two modes of operation, traditional and dynamic. In traditional mode, the HP UPD behaves similarly to traditional print drivers. In dynamic mode, it provides discovery, auto configuration, and management features that are particularly well suited for mobile computer users.

Theory of Operation

HP’s universal print driver is based on Microsoft’s universal core drivers UNIDERV and PSCRIPT.These core drivers are not usable until device specific information is used to inform the core driver of the actual device settings and capabilities. To accomplish this task, a universal printing dialog box is inserted before the standard print setup dialog box. The universal printing dialog box (Figure 1) allows users to choose a recently used device, enter a device IP address, search for local print devices, or choose a device from a predefined list. Regardless of device discovery method used, the Microsoft core driver is updated accordingly and the new device information is then reflected in the normal print driver user interface.

HP provides three different universal printer drivers: PCL5,PCL6 and emulation Postscript.The default device information for HP UPDs is shown in Figure 2. Custom default values can be assigned with the HP Driver Configuration Utility.

Dynamic mode

In dynamic mode, searching for devices is accomplished using the mDNS discovery protocol (aka Bonjour). The mDNS protocol performs satisfactorily for devices residing on the same subnet only. Users will need to enter IP addresses for remote devices unless they have been previously discovered or are available on a managed printers list. Whether discovered, entered, or chosen, the HP universal printing dialog box submits SNMP requests to the target device’s IP address. Using enterprise auto configuration(EAC) and a bidirectional communications port, these requests ascertain a device’s configurations and capabilities. The results are used by the HP UPD to update the print driver table in the Windows registry to accurately reflect the target device’s capabilities. The results are also cached (CREG) and the recently discovered device list is updated to provide an easy method for future selection. In dynamic mode, the HP UPD is considered to be a virtual device. Therefore, the new device instances do not appear in the Printers folder. Figure 3 illustrates the dynamic process of the HP universal printer driver.

Traditional mode

Management features

(INSTALL.EXE, MPA, AD, DDU, DCU)

The HP UPD is a comprehensive printer driver solution. It includes driver management features allowing IT administrators to pre-configure, deploy, and manage the HP driver software. Management tools within the HP UPD include INSTALL.EXE with command line options, the HP MPA Tool, Active Directory Templates, Driver Configuration Utility, Driver Deployment Utility and HP Web Jetadmin. Figure 5 shows a list of driver configuration options and capabilities of HP UPD management features. HP UPD print drivers can be preconfigured with custom default settings.

INSTALL.EXE

The HP UPD installer allows some driver default settings to be modified via command line options. Some of these switches will change the system-wide behavior of the HP UPD, while other changes are specific to a single print queue.

HP MPA Utility

The HP MPA utility pre-configures some driver default settings in a managed HP UPD environment. Settings made within the HP MPA utility control the HP UPD at a user level. The resulting policies are maintained for every printer attached to the HP UPD. They are global user policies that affect HP UPD users.

HP UPD Active Directory Templates

An HP UPD Administrative Template(an Active Directory Template) can be added to create a Group Policy Object to manage the user UPD capabilities. The settings apply to any queue that uses the HP UPD. Care should be taken when locking configuration settings as the user is unable to change a locked setting.

HP Driver Configuration Utility

The HP Driver Configuration Utility (DCU) is a Windows application used to edit the configuration file associated with a particular driver. The configuration file controls the print driver settings and takes effect when the driver is installed.

HP Driver Deployment Utility

The DDU is used to pre-configure a print driver for deployment. When the package is run on the client computer, the new configuration file configures the printer driver after it is installed, and does not interfere with WHQL certification. The DDU contains the standalone DCU utility inside the package and is launched when Pre-configure driver is selected from the DDU tool.

Beyond driver configuration, the HP UPD also employs managed printer lists (MPLs) and managed print policies (MPP) to control access to devices and capabilities. These technologies are used with the HP UPD in dynamic mode. If MPLs are used, then searching for devices is unnecessary. Users are presented with a predefined list of devices from which to choose. MPLs are XML files that can be created manually, with the HP MPA utility, or exported from HP Web Jetadmin. When the HP UPD is activated, it begins by searching the network for the MPL file as shown in Figure 6. MPPs are used to control which users have access to device features like color, duplex, etc. By default, the HP UPD assumes that the HP MPA is installed on a server named managed-print. As a result, the HP UPD searches the network for this server to find HP Managed Print Policies or HP Managed Printer Lists.

Status Notification Popups (SNPs)

The HP UPD also includes status notification pop-ups during print submission that inform the user on device status, print job status, and consumable levels. This is a graphical popup window that displays a dashboard of toner supply levels, links for reordering consumables, and an instant support landing page for that particular HP device model. When the HP UPD is selected for printing, it will attempt to communicate directly with the printer to gather status and job information during printing. By querying the printer through SNMP get commands, network traffic is kept to a minimum and is only present during printing. If desired, the SNPs can be disabled.

Revision History

The HP UPD is available as a MS Windows 32-bit or 64-bit driver and automatically configures itself to the local language of the host machine. Currently, 35 different spoken languages are supported. Over the years, many new features have been added to HP universal printer driver solution. Below is a list of revisions and associated features of the HP UPD software.

The following are the new features of the HP UPD 5.2.

● Face-up and face-down option enhanced

● Photo printing shortcut sets color treatment correctly for Microsoft Office applications in vector path

● Support for the 3-hole punch accessory added for LJ9065

● Watermark is now lockable via driver configuration tools

● Install.exe /gcfm added

● Cartridge Life Tracking updated

● Grayscale ON/OFF central policy added

● Help updated for install.exe /?

● Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 installation updated

● Edgeline printing updated

The following are the new features of the HP UPD 5.1.

● Hagaki paper size support added

● Lock PIN Printing

● Easy Print Quality for Monochrome

● Retain Settings During Upgrade

● Manual Duplexing has been enabled number of older printer models

The following were new features of the HP UPD 5.0.

● HP EasyColor technology

● HP UPD version control using an Install.exe switch

● Ability to create/delete/modify shortcuts in the driver using driver preconfiguration tools.

● Recognizes user-defined media types

● Choose "username" as a default watermark

● Enable printing to HP UPD unsupported products

The following were new features of the HP UPD 4.7.2. (Off-cycle limited release. Refer to driver release table.)

● Tower Tray support added

● Form-to-tray assignments are retained in upgrades

● Removed "User Guide" printing shortcut

● Performance improvements for PCL6 through Delta Row Compression and JPEG "pass through”

The following were the new features of the HP UPD version 4.7.

● Ability to turn off automatic configuration ("printer auto-configuration")

● Pinless private printing

● Support for job separator pages

● Support for HP Web Jetadmin local product status

● New Eco-print shortcut added to Printing Shortcuts tab (enables two-sided printing)

● Status Notification Pop-ups can be enabled/disabled from the Device Settings tab

● Status Notification Pop-ups are disabled by default for enterprise environments

● HP UPD version control using the Add Printer Wizard

● Users who do not have administrator rights on their workstation can add printers to their Printers folder in dynamic mode.