Amdahl Corp is to announce an updated roadmap for its CMOS processor systems today, in an effort to convince customers that it’s keeping up with IBM Corp in the mainframe performance race. The Millennium 800 series mainframes will begin shipping in the first quarter of next year, and will approach 1000 MIPS in performance in 12-way configurations, topping IBM’s recently announced G5 CMOS System/390s, which have a ceiling performance level of 850 MIPS in ten way configurations (CI No 3,405). The 800 is the second generation of Amdahl’s CMOS mainframe range, following the 700 series, announced last June but only shipping since February of this year. Amdahl uses chip technology from its parent company Fujitsu Ltd. Amdahl will also announce a multiple server feature, enabling customers to define from two to four servers within an existing footprint, a way of reducing the price of IBM operating system software sold on the system. The systems will also update the parallel sysplex software to support greater levels of availability, and run in geoplex configurations where servers can be sited up to 40 kilometers away from each other. Amdahl claims to have shipped about 20% of total CMOS MIPS since the 700 reached the market, and 17% of overall S/390 MIPS. It says it intends to keep its machines well within IBM’s competitive range.
