Looking at more details on Bull's site it appears the new Escala offers
optional FC cluster interconnect in addition to FC storage. No mention
of Ancor anywhere though.
Tuesday April 21, 1:52 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Bull Revamps High-End of Escala Range of UNIX Clustered Enterprise Servers
Unveils First 64-bit Model
Improved Scalability, Power, Disaster Recovery and Web-based Administrative Tools Provide Unmatched Price/Performance for Highly Secure, Reliable, Manageable Enterprise Computing
BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 1998-- Bull announced today in the United States sweeping improvements at the clustered high end of its Escala(TM) family of UNIX(TM) enterprise servers -- including its first 64-bit model -- that deliver unique solutions combining maximum price/performance, configuration flexibility and high availability with powerful Web-based tools for simplified administration and management of both production and OLTP-intensive applications for enterprise resource planning (ERP), data warehouse and other business-critical enterprise computing environments.
Six configurations are announced in a new Escala Powercluster(TM) (EPC) family: the 32-bit EPC400 and EPC/S400, EPC800 and EPC/S800, and the 64-bit EPC1200 and EPC/S1200. The ''/S'' (Sagister(TM)) configurations, unique in the industry, allow user to order a highly targeted and integrated set of software applications and management components to the EPC platform to best meet their specific computing needs.
The EPC models are based on Bull's high-performance PowerPC(TM) symmetrical multiprocessing (SMP) technology, and can run the 64-bit AIX(TM) 4.3 UNIX system software along with HACMP(TM) 4.2 high-availability software.
EPC models offer five times the expandability and up to 70 percent more power compared to earlier Escala models. EPC models are offered in a 19-inch rack-mount design that supports up to eight nodes of up to 12 CPUs/node. The EPC400 and EPC800 servers offer up to four and eight CPUs/node, respectively, for 32- and 64-way processing at transaction/minute (tpm)/node ratings of 8,600 and 11,200, respectively. The EPC1200 supports up to 12 CPUs/node for 96-way processing, and performs at 18,600 tpm/node (149,000 tpm for an eight-node cluster). It executes 32- and 64-bit applications concurrently.
''This announcement significantly strengthens our competitive position in the UNIX enterprise server market,'' said Marilyn Guhr, director of marketing & sales support for Bull's Open Systems business in the Americas. ''Furthermore, the Escala EPC and EPC/S offer a vehicle for expanding Bull's high-end market share by growing the base of existing Escala customers with upgrades in power, storage capacity, or software, and by targeting new out-of-base prospects based on Bull's enterprise-class features and leading performance/price competitiveness. The Escala EPC & EPC/S evolution potential is a key reason to buy for many users, and Bull is able to show, with clear roadmaps, our plans for building tomorrow's enterprise UNIX servers.''
EPC, EPC/S Overview, Storage Management, Disaster Recovery, High Availability Features
The EPC400 and EPC800 models are intended for use as application/database servers, while the EPC1200 is designed for data center/consolidation customer environments. The new servers feature virtually unlimited storage capacity and disaster-proof high availability. The new EPC and EPC/S are designed to meet the needs of both types of users equally well, offering exceptional performance for both CPU- and I/O-intensive tasks based on industry-leading scalability, flexibility and high availability features.
The EPC/S configurations support leading third-party solutions, such as SAP and Baan ERP applications; Oracle, Informix and Sybase very large memory and databases; and Tuxedo transaction processing-database applications. Bull's OpenMaster(R) secure enterprise management software also is available to manage the various system, network and application components. Web-based administrative and management tools include ClusterWatch/WatchWare, Cluster Console and PowerConsole.
''The EPC/S software components ordered by the customer are installed on the EPC hardware platform and hot-staged by Bull at the factory prior to shipment,'' Guhr said. ''This allows us to check that the configuration is complete and operating properly, which helps ensure smooth installation at the customer site and rapid cut-over to full production.''
The storage management and disaster recovery features of the new models allow for data consolidation and disk subsystem sharing among Escala hosts via a fiber channel link and AIX mirroring. An Automatic Takeover Facility protects against disk system connection failure, including fiber channel adapters, by automatically transferring applications to an alternative bus. The fiber link offers outstanding performance at 1 GB/s bandwidth and 100 MB/s throughput, plus high capacity at 264 GB per subsystem. Customers can use this capability to create a disaster recovery scheme spanning 10 km (6.2 miles), providing ample protection from accidental or deliberate damage or environmental disasters caused by fire, flooding, etc.
Improved high availability features of the EPC and EPC/S servers under HACMP 4.2 include fast recovery, event emulation, dynamic resource movement and improved security for applications and data. Improvements to AIX 4.3 delivered with EPC and EPC/S servers include Bull's own B1 level security component, and support for Internet Protocol V6, developed by Bull.
Web-Based Centralized Control and Administrative Costs Savings
Research has proven that moving from a large number of distributed systems to a consolidated number of servers can save millions of dollars over a three-year period. The savings result from greatly reduced administrative and support costs, lower license fees, streamlined upgrades and centralized backup. Bull's new EPC models allow users to take advantages of these cost benefits through three new capabilities:
ClusterWatch/WatchWare - is an innovative Web browser tool that allows administrators, whether onsite or remotely located, to control the status of an EPC or EPC/S cluster and all resources via the Internet. ClusterConsole - provides ClusterWatch functions plus a Web-based single point of control for managing users, HA clusters, performance and resource controls, alarms, non-HA nodes, etc. PowerConsole - provides the ClusterConsole functions plus console concentration, centralized OS release management, backup/restore, upgrades, management of several HA/cluster domains of up to eight EPC nodes each, and more.
Pricing and Availability
All EPC and EPC/S models are available immediately. The EPC400 supports up to eight nodes of 1-4 CPUs each. It uses PowerPC 604e processors running at 360 MHz and includes eight I/O slots per node on a PCI bus. AIX 4.2 or 4.3 system software is included. Entry price is $30,000.
The EPC800 supports up to eight nodes of 2-8 CPUs. It uses PowerPC 604e processors running at 300 MHz, and includes 16 I/O slots per node on an MCA bus. AIX 4.15, 4.2 or 4.3 system software is included. Entry price is $45,000.
The EPC1200 supports up to 8 nodes of 4-12 CPUs. It uses PowerPC RS64 64-bit microprocessors running at 125 MHz, and includes 56 I/O slots per node on a PCI bus. AIX 4.3 system software is included. Entry price is $130,000.
About Bull's Escala Server Range
Nearly 13,000 Escala servers are installed worldwide. The Escala family is very competitively priced and is available in standalone and rack configurations to meet a wide range of requirements, from robust workgroup and applications servers up to very large database servers and enterprise clusters.
Bull's Escala offers the industry's broadest performance range of binary code-compatible UNIX servers. Escala Series Models E and T are built on 360 MHz PowerPC technology, offer eight-way multiprocessing, native high-availability and are 64-bit-ready. Midrange models Escala D and 64-bit Escala RL offer 12-way computing and perform at up to 18,600 transactions/min (tpm). The high-end EPC models offer 64-bit processing performance, 96-way computing and are rated at up to 149,000 tpm/node.
About Bull
With a presence in more than 85 countries, more than 21,000 employees and combined revenues of more than $4.2 billion in 1997, Bull offers a comprehensive range of systems, infrastructure software and IT services through focused innovation, alliances with the best partners and its own integration expertise. Based in France, the company's worldwide software division, and its North/South America operations, are headquartered in Billerica, Mass. The company's Web address is bull.com and, in the U.S., us.bull.com.
Escala and OpenMaster are registered trademarks of Bull S.A. in the U.S. and other countries.
Powercluster and Sagister are trademarks of Bull S.A.
UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Limited.
PowerPC and AIX are registered trademarks of IBM and are being used under license.
All trademarks, service marks and company names are the property of their respective owners. |
