HP is readying server management software that should give users control of Unix, Linux and Windows machines from a single console, a capability analysts say will be particularly important as businesses consolidate workloads to boost efficiencies in their data centers.

The software, code-named Nimbus, will be the first integrated tool from a systems vendor that handles the nitty-gritty of server management regardless of platform, from updating server BIOS and driver agents to updating patches, analysts say.

According to sources, Nimbus will be an amalgamation of HP's server management tools: Insight Manager, the old Compaq technology that monitors Windows and Alpha servers, and Servicecontrol Manager for HP-UX and Linux systems. HP Toptools Device Manager, which managed multiple platforms, was discontinued last year, but its features are expected to be integratedin Nimbus.

HP declined to comment on Nimbus, but sources say a base version is expected to ship with HP servers within months.

The package is an upgrade to Insight Manager, which brings HP's management and monitoring expertise to the legacy Compaq product, says Jason Robohm, director of technical services at Crossmark Holdings in Plano, Texas. Crossmark, which is testing the Nimbus software, is a longtime ProLiant customer.

"The advantage for us is we're seeing thinner and thinner load on the server and more [remote monitoring] and SNMP-type polling, which means you have less overhead and fewer things to update in the way of agents," Robohm says. "That's the direction where we see this new version of Insight Manager heading: almost an HP OpenView look and feel, but not meant to be providing network-related uptimes and correlation, but instead give you the kind of information about a specific box and performance of that particular box.

"So it's collecting all the information like Insight Manager used to, but saying 'I'm not worried about operating system differences because I'm using industry-standard ways of gathering information,' " Robohm says.

The capabilities in Nimbus are important, analysts note, because server management software feeds into larger, higher-level network management systems such as HP OpenView and IBM's Tivoli product, which are used to manage heterogeneous servers, storage and other resources.