Systems Designers Plc’s recently-formed Artificial Intelligence Business Centre has, as reported briefly (CI No 726), launched a product, starting at UKP995 for the MicroVAX II, which it claims improves the performance of DEC VAX hardware running under VMS by up to 20%. SD-Tuner collects information, including CPU, memory and cache usage statistics, from the VMS Monitor before offering an initial judgement. After asking questions on memory size and type, SD-Tuner gives advice that the company describes as consistent, correct and comprehensive. Philip Berber, marketing director of the AIBC, says that the product, which was designed using Systems Designers’ Envisage expert systems shell, offers a new cost-effective route to tuning the VAX. While many large users have, Berber claims, turned to expensive training courses or consultants, smaller and new users have neglected tuning completely.
