The enhanced solutions include real-time SLA performance monitoring, threshold alerting of potential SLA violations, quick and simplified generation of SLAs, and graphical SLA compliance reporting. Firehunter and Firehunter/PRO Version 2.0 help service providers guarantee specified levels of quality, improve customer satisfaction and expand market share and revenues. HP also has integrated Firehunter with HP OpenView Network Node Manager (NNM) and HP OpenView Customer Views for NNM, providing integrated solutions for network and internet service management.

"Value-added Internet services such as e-mail, Web hosting and electronic commerce have become a primary means for conducting business," said Tom White, HP vice president and general manager of the Communications Test Solutions Group. "Service providers must manage complex, distributed and heterogeneous systems over which these business-critical services are deployed, and also satisfy growing customer demands for availability, reliability and rapid response. Firehunter and Firehunter/PRO allow service providers to deliver superior quality of service. The solutions' end-to-end, easy-to-use service-level-management capabilities enable service providers to negotiate guarantees effectively and to deliver defined quality-of-service levels while making a profit."

Firehunter and Firehunter/PRO Version 2.0 include the following new features:

• Dynamic SLA monitoring, which allows service providers to track SLA conformance proactively in the same way they monitor other Internet services. This allows service providers to correct problems before SLA violations occur. The capacity to differentiate on quality of service and reduce frequency of SLA violations offer new revenue opportunities for service providers.
• Predefined SLA templates, which allow service providers to create "out-of-the-box" SLAs easily for Web, e-mail and news services. These customizable templates do not require an advanced understanding of SLA configurations and replace the often-complex process of creating SLAs manually. Three built-in tiers of SLA templates scale to customer quality requirements.
• Integrated deployment with HP OpenView NNM and HP OpenView Customer Views for NNM, which provides service providers with comprehensive control of the network, server, and services components of their service-delivery environments (see today's related announcement). This allows Firehunter users to exceed the service levels expected by their customers.
• Improved graphical SLA compliance reporting, which allows service providers to create graphical reports and charts regarding a customer's specific SLA performance and to deliver them on demand or on a scheduled basis. Customers can view these reports and charts conveniently via the Web. This way of analyzing and delivering performance data replaces difficult, time-intensive text reporting.
• Linux support, which provides users of Firehunter products full support for the Linux operating system (Version 5.2) from Red Hat Software, Inc. HP has added this feature in response to popular demand.
• Radius remote authentication-server testing, which extends Firehunter's extensive monitoring capabilities. This authentication-server testing allows service providers to determine the availability, performance and overall health of remote Radius authentication servers.

U.S. Pricing and Availability

Firehunter and Firehunter/PRO Version 2.0 are expected to be available worldwide on April 1 from HP and designated HP resellers. Pricing starts at $14,950.

Information about HP Firehunter products can be obtained on the World Wide Web at http://www.firehunter.com.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global provider of computing, Internet and intranet solutions, services, communications products and measurement solutions, all of which are recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 122,800 employees and had revenue of $47.1 billion in its 1998 fiscal year.

More information on Firehunter and Firehunter Pro.

Information about HP, its products and the company's Year 2000 program can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.