Remember that report about Calxeda and HP teaming up for low-power ARM servers? Well, now it’s official and it even has a name: Project Moonshot.

To get the industry used to the idea of computing on servers built around ARM processors, HP is laying the groundwork with a couple of initiatives. First is Project Pathfinder, which brings together partners including the aforementioned Calxeda along with ARM and Red Hat, to develop the technologies and hardware platforms and drum up industry support. Interestingly, the inclusion of AMD implies that Moonshot will also encompass low-power x86 processors. Hmm…

Also on deck is the HP Discovery Lab, pictured above with its Head of Platform Research & Development, Gerald Kleyn. Set to open near Houston, Texas early next year, customers can use the facility, either remotely or on-site, to test their apps on the The Redstone Server Development Platform. This hardware, “incorporates more than 2,800 servers in a single rack, reducing cabling, switching and use of peripheral devices to reduce complexity by up to 97 percent,” according to HP.

The potential benefits? A whole lot ‘less.’

By the company’s estimates, IT shops can expect these servers to consume up to 89% less energy, occupy 94% less space and cost 63% less overall. Pretty tempting, but we’ll get to see if those savings bear out when data center operators are able to put the tech through its paces for themselves next year.

For a behind-the-scenes look, watch the HP Discovery Lab video here. (Eagle-eyed viewers will notice the Calxeda logo on the processors when Gerald Kleyn tilts the server chassis toward the camera at about 1m 16sec.) You can also check out HP’s Project Moonshot announcement video below.

Screengrab credit: HP

[via Hacker News]