Invincible Technologies Corp has introduced a fault-tolerant version of its Lifeline Network File Server system. Lifeline Symmetric Fault Tolerant, SFT, is a Digital Equipment Corp Alpha RISC-based dual server system running 64-bit Digital Unix. Each of the servers runs the clients: one is not merely a replica of the other, according to the Medway, Massachusetts-based company. Invincible has also signed agreements with Pure Atria Software Corp and Parametric Technology Inc to provide versions of Pure Atria’s ClearCase software configuration suite and Parametric’s Pro/PDM and Pro/Engineer computer-aided design tools on Invincible’s Network File Servers. The servers also incorporate Invincible’s storage array and failover software. They ha ve two 275MHz Alphas inside. The new machines have an enhanced version of Invincible’s Management, Environmental, Diagnostics Subsystem, MEDS as well as its Rapid Response software. Rapid Response monitors the status of the system and warns of potential problems. All the systems management is done through MEDS, including supporting ClearCase, Pro/PDM or Pro/Engineer applications, where they are installed, as well as configuring RAID levels and file system management. Arun Taneja, In vincible’s vice-president of marketing claimed Management, Environmental, Diagnostics Subsystem provided fault-tolerance at the application level, as well as all the necessary systems management. Taneja said Invincible had sold a few hundred of the Lifeline Information Servers that it launched last year. He said that sales had recently started to accelerate. Prices start at $168,000 for a configuration with 256Mb of memory and 20.5Gb of RAID 5 disk. It is expandable to a maximum 1Gb of memory and 246Gb of RAID disks.
