Hewlett Packard (HP) yesterday launched an entry-level Unix server which analysts predicted would face stiff competition from the hardware giant's own Windows 2000 range of servers.

The A-Class range is designed to help HP gain market share from Sun Microsystems in the $10.8bn entry-level Unix market.

The HP9000 A400 and A500 servers will be available for order worldwide on 1 June, and are aimed at service providers, internet startups and large businesses as a platform to reduce the time it takes to create and deploy electronic services.

The A400 includes a single PA RISC processor, 2Gb of RAM and two I/O slots. The A500 includes two processors, 8Gb of RAM and four I/O slots.

The servers are available with either HP-UX 11 or the Linux operating system, but the distribution of Linux to be used with the servers is yet to be announced.

Chris Martin, an analyst at Xephon, said HP was fleshing out its portfolio so it could provide computers from the desktop to the datacentre, but he cautioned that different divisions of HP could end up in competition.

"Entry level Unix servers will face extreme competition from Windows 2000, and the lower end of the market will suffer," he said.

The two servers are rack-mountable in what HP described as a "pizza-box form". They come bundled with software applications including Nokia's WAP (wireless application protocol) server software, Infoseek's search engine, Resonate's load-balancing software and e-speak.

The inclusion of Nokia's WAP software makes HP's servers the first 'out of the box wireless Web Unix servers', according to the vendor.

To sweeten its offering HP announced a variety of payment packages. These include Servers on Demand, which extends its existing instant Capacity On Demand program and will allow service providers to install servers at their premises and not pay for them until they are actually put into use.

The vendor also introduced a financing option aimed at startups, Called Pay-Per-Forecast, which allows companies to structure payments based on their expected revenue and based on a 36-month lease.

HP also promised to introduce a six-hour repair time for the A400 and A500 servers, which it described as an industry first.