Unisys Muscle
Unisys says that in 1998 it will release a mainframe for Windows NT--a superserver with 32 Intel Pentium II or Intel Merced processors. (Merced versions will appear after Merced chips are released.) Unisys will base the new server on its ServerPlus Cellular Multi-Processing (CMP) technology. With CMP technology, you can use the server as one massive processor complex or as four separate 8-way processor complexes. In the latter case, for example, two complexes could run NT and the other two run UNIX.
The Unisys plan is to use its UNIX, mainframe, and service expertise to create a more powerful NT server that vendors could offer as a high-end hardware solution. Unisys will certify approximately 2000 engineers on NT, and at the same time, will seek approval from Intel of its complex designs.
—Mark Joseph Edwards
HP or Digital: Which Is Faster?
HP shipped its new 8-processor servers in January. The new systems are the first of their kind, going to market ahead of 8-way systems by Compaq Computer, IBM, Dell Computer, and others.
HP claimed that the new systems--HP NetServer LXr PRO8--produced the world's best Windows NT-based system performance on the SAP R/3 Sales and Distribution (SD) benchmark, but apparently those claims aren't correct. Digital Equipment's new line of servers is considerably faster than any HP offering.
According to information on Digital's Web site, the company also conducted SD benchmarks last year, which produced record-breaking results: an average dialog response time of 1.45 seconds on a 2001-user SD benchmark. This average response time is 38 percent faster than that obtained by Data General, 79 percent faster than Compaq, and 122 percent faster than HP.
Digital achieved these results by combining the power of Digital's AlphaServer and x86 Prioris with NT 4.0 and the Informix Online Dynamic Server 7.x database. The report shows that the setup can fully process 210,000 order line items per hour. SAP audited and certified the test results. For more information about this report, visit http://www.digital.com/info/prw00q.
—Mark Joseph Edwards
No More CPU Overclocking
Overclocking is setting the CPU to run at a faster speed than the unit was originally intended to run at by adjusting jumpers on the motherboard. Manufacturers say this practice overstresses the chips, but some users think that it doesn't and that they have the right to overclock if they want to.
If you're a Windows NT box overclocker, your adventures might soon be over. Intel might make this act virtually impossible with future renditions of its chips. The company is reportedly bonding the chips' multiplier pins, effectively removing the opportunity to overclock the chips. Intel has made the change in its Pentium II processors and other Pentium chips with Multimedia Extensions (MMX) technology.
Intel wouldn't confirm the report, but a company representative said Intel is concerned about unscrupulous firms overclocking chips. Such firms might relabel a system as having a faster CPU speed, but not tell the consumer about the overclocking used to achieve those faster speeds.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processors don't restrict overclocking, and with Intel chips, you can still accelerate the motherboard's bus for added advantages in certain setups. In any case, overclocking can introduce potential system trouble.
—Mark Joseph Edwards
NT Graphics to Heat Up
Microsoft and Silicon Graphics are collaborating to create a new 3D graphics architecture called Fahrenheit. The companies plan to create this architecture by combining Silicon Graphics' OpenGL and scene graph with Microsoft's DirectX. (OpenGL is already present in Windows NT.) But don't look for this technology to appear anytime soon. Analysts say scene graph extensions won't surface until sometime this year, and the low-level API for Fahrenheit won't be ready until the year 2000. Both companies point out that in the meantime, OpenGL is the way to go for high-end professional graphics, and DirectX is better for games and consumer applications.
The UNIX workstation market is suffering at the hands of NT, and Silicon Graphics plans to use Fahrenheit to get a firm hold on the Windows/Intel (Wintel) market. But the company isn't waiting for Fahrenheit to get started: Silicon Graphics plans to enter the Wintel market in mid-1998 with new NT-based systems.
—Mark Joseph Edwards
Internet Explorer 4.01
Internet Explorer (IE) 4.0 has been out only a short time, and already Microsoft has released IE 4.01, the first update to the software. Microsoft says IE 4.01 contains fixes that solve conflicts with Home Base software (preinstalled on some Compaq Computer Presarios) and addresses general stability issues that lead to crashes, lock-ups, and other oddities. IE 4.01 includes fixes for several security risks and some new features--font sizes, colors, and styles--for vision-impaired users. Microsoft has also trimmed the download size of IE 4.01 by having the install program determine which files are current on your system, so you don't need to download those files again. You can learn more about the update and download a copy from Microsoft's Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/ie).
—Mark Joseph Edwards
Pretty Good Privacy Sold
Network Associates, the entity created by the 1997 merger of McAfee Associates and Network General, has bought Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), maker of popular encryption products. The purchase price was $35 million in cash.
—Mark Joseph Edwards
Clustering's New Virtual Interface
Microsoft, Intel, Compaq Computer, and more than 100 other companies recently released a new specification--Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture 1.0--for increasing performance and reliability in clustered systems. This specification will serve as the foundation for the system area network (SAN), a specialized network optimized for the reliability and performance requirements of clusters.
VI Architecture provides an industry-standard, high-speed cluster communication interface. This interface will dramatically improve the performance of distributed applications by reducing the latency associated with critical message-passing operations--distributed enterprise computing requires very-low-latency, high-bandwidth communications.
The companies wrote the specification in only eight months for the usual reason: When an architecture isn't exactly the way the developer wants it, the developer often helps design a new specification. And when Microsoft is involved, that specification usually becomes an industry standard very quickly.
VI Architecture is critical to the success of Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS--formerly code-named Wolfpack), which Microsoft released last fall as part of Windows NT Server 4.0, Enterprise Edition. MSCS is important to NT's evolution, because MSCS has the potential to catapult the operating system into high-end shops that demand fail-safe protection and robust performance. But to improve MSCS's performance, Microsoft needs developers to create new clustering hardware.
Products based on the VI Architecture are scheduled to become available in 1998. These include high-performance SAN interface cards; high-speed, scalable switches for SANs; and database products. For more information about the VI Architecture, visit http://www.viarch.org.
—Mark Joseph Edwards
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