Thread:
Others besides CPQ & Dell jumping on the Enterprise track...
PCs Push The Envelope (11/21/97; 3:00 p.m. EST)
By Mitch Wagner, InternetWeek
LAS VEGAS -- Personal computer vendors continued to push the upper limits of power with high-end computing systems introduced at Comdex.
Technologies such as multiprocessing, clustering, and high-speed, high-capacity storage give the PC architecture the ability to compete with the highest-end systems, said Compaq Computer CEO Eckard Pfeiffer in his keynote address on Monday.
"The PC will reach up into the highest end of the most complex operations and totally displace remaining legacy systems,'' Pfeiffer said.
As if to prove Pfeiffer's point, NCR and Data General introduced eight-way Pentium Pro servers, designed for data warehousing, online transaction processing, and other database applications.
But pure power wasn't all. Packard Bell NEC and Hewlett-Packard introduced low-end workgroup servers incorporating management features and hot-swappable components -- allowing PCs to compete with other architectures not just in terms of power, but also in terms of reliability.
Data General's announcement of the eight-way Aviion AV 8600 Pentium Pro server pushed the upper limit of SMP technology, differing from previous announcements of upcoming eight-way servers from Compaq and HP. Data General's server is available in a two-unit, rack-mounted cluster, using Microsoft Cluster Server software to link the units together.
The Data General unit will be available in mid-December, priced at $100,000 for a typical configuration.
The NCR WorldMark 4380 server is an eight-way, Pentium-Pro-based version of the four-processor WorldMark 4300 introduced last year. The 4280 uses the OctaScale architecture developed by NCR to link two four-processor Intel boards. The system is priced from $17,900 to $60,000, depending on configuration. It is available immediately.
On the low end, the NEC Express5800 ES1200 is a Pentium II-based server priced at about $3,000. The server includes several features more typical of higher-end systems, including on-board RAID disk drives and an ESMPRO ASIC chip designed to monitor hardware parameters such as heat, power supply, processor, and disk performance, and to report potential problems to a management console. The system will be available next month.
HP, meanwhile, announced two new low-end Pentium II-based servers. The HP NetServer LC II is designed for small and midsized workgroups and includes on-board Remote Assistant hardware and software for systems management and diagnostics.
The system supports up to two processors, with either standard or hot-swappable disk drives. The LC II is priced starting at $2,700. The LH II, which also runs one or two processors, supports Microsoft Cluster Server for added reliability and power and comes with hot-swappable drives standard and redundant power-supplies.
Starting price is about $4,200. Both systems support on-board RAID. The systems are scheduled to be available in January.
Copyright (c) CMP Media, 1997.
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