The server giant has been OEM’ing Polyserve Inc’s NAS clustering software since 2005, but only on a an a-la-carte basis that has required customers or integrators to load the software onto HP servers, and then link those servers to HP EVA disk arrays.

So far only around 100 customers have taken up the offer, according to an estimate made by PolyServe last month. As Harry Baeverstad, NAS general manager for HP admits, customers want more integrated systems.

A year ago we thought that people would be buying clustered gateways and adding them to existing SANs. But we’re finding that customers are buying EVAs every time they buy those clustered gateways, Baeverstad said.

So now HP has now begun shipping systems that include a range of entire NAS cluster set-up, under single SKUs.

Another reason for the change of heart may be that in November PolyServe updated its software with hooks and features designed to encourage its OEM and other customers to do this turn-key pre-packaging.

HP launched its Windows-powered low-end and mid-range NAS four years ago, and has had no problem selling it in volume. This week it launched its first such box that can also act as an iSCSI storage device. This is the DL5842G2 NAS gateway, which is powered by an updated version NAS-tailored variant of Windows.

Launched by Microsoft late last year, this added ISCSI target software to the OS, and introduced a new name — Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003. It is the same OS that runs the LSI-powered NX1950 disk array that Dell Corp launched in December.

HP’s DL5842G2 is based on HP’s DL585 server, which has just been switched from 32-bit to 64-bit AMD Opteron processors. That change bumps up the throughput of the gateway.

Separately, HP has begun reselling Cisco recently-launched SAN blade switches, and has added media server-based encryption to its backup software.

HP said that around 60% of all the blade server chassis it ships are connected to Fibre Channel SANs. Making that connection to a SAN by using a SAN switch mounted on blade that connects to the rack back-plane saves a great deal of cabling.

But unlike its SAN rivals QLogic Corp and Brocade Communications Systems Inc, until now Cisco has not shipped any blade SAN switches of its own. Instead Cisco has been offering to support QLogic blades, which because they are from a different vendor cannot support the full range of functions of a Cisco SAN, such as VSAN logical partitioning. Now, Cisco has put that situation right by shipping 12-port and 24-port blades of its own.

Finally, HP has added backup server-based AES 256-bit encryption to its Data Protector backup software. That closes the gap with backup tools that already sported this feature. Because the process of encrypting backup data consumes so many processor cycles, only a minority of customers choose to do it on their backup servers.

But HP said that it still worth offering the option. Customers tell us that their biggest pain is encrypting data on backup tapes, Baeverstad said.