Hewlett-Packard is taking on IBM in supercomputers, with the introduction of two new computer server products under the new Apollo brand name. High-performance computing (HPC) enables breakthroughs in science and engineering, and use of the technology is expanding beyond governments and academia to enterprises.

The HP Apollo 6000 combines up to 160 low-end servers in one rack that H-P says will offer high performance computing capabilities that are superior to existing systems while using up to about half of the energy.

The other system, the H-P Apollo 8000, will be the world’s first completely liquid-cooled supercomputer that lets HP compete for the first with IBM and Cray in the high end of the market.

The Apollo 8000 cools the machines by sending water through channels built into the chassis surrounding the computers. The warm water is then circulated out of the chassis through a pipe system that companies must build in their data centers.

HP's HPC strategy also included a series of announcements designed to put more meat on the company's datacenter strategy.

Here's the breakdown:

• The company launched the HP 3Par StoreServe 7450 storage array that is all-flash and has economics on par with traditional hard drives. HP also updated its backup and recovery tools.
• HP outlined its HP Virtual Cloud Networking SDN (software defined networking) applications. HP's spin on virtual cloud networking is based on open standards. HP also designed its SDN software to work with its switches and Helion cloud stack.
• HP said it will use its OneView software, which manages converged systems, to manage its 3Par storage gear as well as VMware and Microsoft environments.
• The company also integrated its ConvergedSystem 300 and 700 for virtualization with OneView.
• And, finally, HP is launching a service called Flexible Capacity, which is a pay-as-you-go model that integrates public and private cloud as well as traditional datacenters into one pool.