Apollo Computer Inc, Chelmsford, Massachusetts, takes the view that the implementation of its Network Computing System done by fault-tolerant Marlboro neighbour Stratus Computer Inc (CI No 917) is an important development because Stratus systems are used in many environments that are perfectly suited for network computing applications. Apollo says that with the Stratus NCS port, software applications can be developed that share the compute power of Apollo workstations and Stratus’s XA2000 Continuous Processing Systems, using the best features of each system for specific tasks – which is the whole idea behind the Network Computing System. For instance, says Apollo, with the system, a broker could use an Apollo workstation to display graphically and analyse up-to-the-minute market data and profit/loss positions captured by a Stratus system. The broker could manipulate data, ask what if questions and see the graphic results in real time – and already, Chicago Research and Trading Group Ltd, described as one of the world’s largest exchange-based options trading firms, plans to use NCS over its Apollo and Stratus equipment. Apollo workstations will act as trading stations, while Stratus transaction processors will store financial and historical data, and the firm will be able to draw data from the Stratus systems and display it graphically on Apollo screens.
