In-Depth
April Inside IBM
AT PRESS
Four-Way Power for Netfinity 5500
IBM added the Netfinity 5500 M20, supporting up to four Intel Pentium III Xeonprocessors, to its Netfinity line. IBM also announced support for Intel's Profusionchipset, which will be used on eight-way servers due later this year.
Netfinity 5500 M20 features:
- Up to four 500MHz Pentium III Xeon processors with 1MB/512KB L2 Cache
- Support for a maximum of 4GB SDRAM
- Support for 109.2GB of internal storage via an integrated RAID Controller
- Integrated ServeRAID ports for internal and external storage
- Integrated Advanced System Manage- ment Processor for system monitoring
- Lightpath Diagnostics
- Redundant hot-plug components like hot-add RAID and Ethernet Adapters
- Integrated 10/100 Ethernet port
Estimated reseller prices start at $8,085. Planned availability is for first quarter1999.
450Mhz Xeon Processors
In a related story, Netfinity servers support Intel's 450 MHz Pentium II Xeonmicroprocessor. The Netfinity 5500 M10, for corporate departments, large workgroups orremote offices, and the Netfinity 7000 M10, for server consolidation, businessintelligence applications and other enterprisewide functions, are now available throughIBM authorized resellers.
The Netfinity 7000 M10 features:
- Up to four 450 MHz Pentium II Xeon in 512 KB, 1MB and 2MB cache sizes
- "Chipkill" memory
- An integrated Advanced System Management PCI adapter
- Support for 12 hot-plug and hot-add PCI slots
- Support for 64-bit PCI adapter cards
- Up to 8 GB EDO memory
- Support for high-availability features like redundant, hot-plug disks, fans, power and Ethernet adapters
Estimated reseller prices on the Netfinity 7000 M10 begin at $10,549.
The Netfinity 5500 M10, with two-way SMP design (up to two 450 MHz Pentium II Xeonprocessors) has an estimated reseller price begining at $6,599.
IBM's IntelliStation Z Pro
IBM's NT-based workstation, the IBM IntelliStation Z Pro, features up to two new IntelPentium III Xeon microprocessors running at 500MHz or 550MHz, as well as graphicsenhancements, such as the IBM Fire GL1 and Intense3D Wildcat 4000 graphics adapters.
The IntelliStation Z Pro supports applications, such as Allegro/Cadence, CATIA/CADAM,I-DEAS, KOBRA/ Reuters, Master Series, Maya/Alias Wavefront and Pro/ENGINEER.
IntelliStation Z Pro features:
- 100MHz front side bus and full-speed L2 cache
- Up to 2GB of 100MHz ECC SDRAM
- Dual ported Ultra 2 SCSI with bus mastering capability
- Ultra 2 SCSI drives at 7,200 or 10,000 rpm
- Seven full-length slots one AGP, five PCI and one ISA/PCI shared slot
- Seven expansion bays (four open) with 91GB of HDD capacity
Estimated reseller prices for Intell- Station Z Pro, Pentium III Xeon, 500MHz, start at$4,050.
Windows 2000 Hardware
IBM strengthened efforts to bring enterprise technologies to the Microsoft Windows2000-based server space. The IBM Center for Microsoft Technologies (Kirkland, Wash.) plansto speed development of enhanced user functionality for Netfinity servers using Windows2000. IBM's X-Architecture a technology roadmap for Netfinity hardware will serve asthe blueprint for grafting IBM's tested enterprise technologies to the Windows 2000operating environment.
X-Architecture initiatives planned for 1999/2000 include enterprise storage, scaleableclustering (including use of an SP switch), high-speed interconnect technology, 8-way SMP,advanced memory andcross-platform interoperability.
Also, the center will help Netfinity "Partners in Development" membersoptimize their software (including Windows 2000 and associated applications) to takegreater advantage of advanced Netfinity server features. For example, IBM's OnForeverinitiative, will extend hot plug capabilities to memory and microprocessors within thenext three years.
OBI News
In conjunction with the upgrades within the IBM Netfinity family, IBM is expanding itsServer Communications Options to offer a new suite of PCI adapters:
- Serial I/O Adapters The new Serial I/O Adapters feature 8, 16 and 128 server-based serial ports per PCI bus slot, delivering high-performance serial connectivity and management capabilities. These adapters are targeted for use in remote access and local serial connectivity applications, as well as point-of-sale and automation. The estimated reseller price starts at $399.
- Wide Area Network Adapters The new two-port and multi-port WAN Adapters are designed for wide area interface connections and provide customers the ability to increase WAN bandwidth for applications, such as electronic commerce, virtual private networks and packet networking. These adapters enable customers to extend LAN networks to remote locations using leased lines or packet networks and help to consolidate telephone services and dedicate network equipment. The estimated reseller price starts at $719.
- Remote Access Server Adapters The new IBM Basic Rate Server Adapter is a four-port adapter with integrated modem support for remote access servers processing analog, V.90 and ISDN calls. The IBM ISDN Primary Rate Adapter is a single-port adapter with integrated modem support for remote access servers using ISDN lines. Customers can leverage networked computers via remote access connectivity for telecommuting, branch office connectivity and enterprise WAN applications. The estimated reseller price starts at $3,199.