Back to the Future Systems (FS) - a Power4 CPU for a "DataBase" AS/400
Don the FS was to be IBM's database server and 29 years later it may be just that:
" Since clock speed is only one determinant of server
performance, IBM has also developed a complementary
technology called "synchronous wave pipeline interface,"
which will enable bus speeds for the Power4 in excess
of 500 MHz, said Frank Ferraiolo, a senior IBM
engineer. Bus speeds determine how fast a processor
can exchange data with other parts of a system.
"The goal of the Power4 isn't just creating a
high-performance processor; it's to create a
high-performance server," Ferraiolo said.
IBM hopes its Power4 will be used in powerful Web
servers and for running electronic-commerce
applications, as well as complex technical and
engineering applications used by the scientific
community, said Joel Tendler, a senior technical analyst
with IBM's server group. IBM aims to start selling the
new processor in the second half of 2001 in its AS/400
and RS/6000 servers, he said. "
wysiwyg://79/http://www.computerworld.com/home/news.nsf/all/9908172hotchip
Used to joke: "what IBM throws away at the end of the day the rest of the industry would love to have" .
Guess IBM's FS development at Sand Hill Rd. (Menlo Park) needed better garbage can locks to stop the database "Pioneers" of Silicon Valley .
The Power4 gives IBM the hardware , but to assure the software is right maybe IBM should return the favor and search ORCL's garbage cans ;>)
Regards,
Jim K. |
