IBM AS/400 Pricing And Estimated Performance IBM has described the AS/400 in two ways. One is in terms of what IBM calls Internal Microprogramming Interface (IMPI) MIPS, the other in RAMP-C transactions per hour (RCTPH). The smallest machine, the B10, runs at 0.25 IMPI MIPS and 4,500 RCTPH. The processor lists for $19,000 with 4Mb of main memory and two 315Mb disks. The B20 provides about 0.4 IMPI MIPS of raw processing power and 9,000 RCTPH; it costs $33,500 in a similar configuration. The B20 can have up to 16Mb, the B10 8Mb. Both these machines are in 5362-type low cabinets. The rack-mounted machines don’t include disk drives. They are the B30, a 0.4 IMPI MIPS and 10,000 RCTPH engine that costs $26,500 with 4Mb and no disks; the B40, a 0.6 IMPI MIPS and 18,000 RCTPH machine that lists for $62,500 with 8Mb; the B50, a 0.9 IMPI MIPS and 27,000 RCTPH processor that comes with 16Mb for $133,500; and the B60, a 1.5 IMPI MIPS and 45,000 RCTPH machine equipped with 32Mb of main memory, that is priced from $229,500. The bigger machines cost more per MIPS. Based on IBM’s IMPI MIPS ratings and its $2,500 per Mb charge for main memory (it’s only $1,500 on the B10 and B20), the B60’s bare process or works out to cost some thing like $100,000 per MIPS. A similar calculation gives a cost per MIPS of $103,500 for the B50, $71,000 per MIPS for the B40, and only $41,250 per MIPS for the B30 model.
On June 21, IBM bet its midrange future on successors to the S/3X line called the Application System/400 series. The machines run programs written for the System/36 and System/38. They use cabinets borrowed from the 9370 (or the 5362 System 36, in the case of the two smallest units). Their hard disks are either 5.25 PS/2 drives or 933X rack-mount units. Even the name of the series lacks originality: to us, AS suggests a mainframe from National Advanced Systems. Boring Boring, boring, boring. But let’s face it. Any IBM machine almost completely devoid of new ideas is bound to be a winner in the small blue world. The most obvious characteristic of the computers is that the derivative of costs with respect to MIPS the rate at which software fees climb, for instance – is high. And our initial hardware price/performance estimates show that IBM is offering the System/36 user, who will most likely migrate to the B30 or B40, a better deal. System/38 shops, particularly the ones with 600s or 700s, will have to consider a B50 or B60, respectively. From a competitive standpoint, the AS/400 does not appear to be a threat to other vendors’ products. Quite the opposite. The machines, according to IBM, give 30% more value than their predecessors, which were priced high. IBM’s rivals – at least as stirred up by all the pre announcement hoopla as users – have spent months planning their counterattack. They prepared for a lot more than IBM has thrown at them. For instance, DEC has been trying to improve the performance of its VAX line in transaction environments, and will shortly announce the resultant products. Then the debate about benchmarking will get even more acrimonious. IBM uses the mysterious RAMP-C, which it describes, but for which it will not provide source code. This much is clear: RAMP-C tests are representative of the workloads of many small businesses. So, RAMP-C may be a good measure of apparent computing power… for these enterprises. But for database jobs that involve ad hoc inquiries and for many other types of work, RAMP-C is probably useless. Maybe Silverlake will perform well on a variety of other benchmark tests. But if this is the case, IBM should have said so at the announcement. We found three glaring omissions from the AS/400 announcement: a spreadsheet program, a high-end word processing package, and a hardware maths co-processor. The lack of a spreadsheet is very serious. For users who want to examine, interactively, consolidated results of business activity, the spreadsheet package is a necessity. Once a user has been spoiled by a PC, a random SQL-type query on a Silverlake will be maddeningly slow. And if the user wants a gr
aph instead of a table of numbers, he’s out of luck. We suspect that the fastest PC in our office has more computational power than most of the AS/400 models. The same issues arise when a user wants presentation-quality documents, the kind that are easy to produce using any high-end PC word processing program and a cheap laser printer. If IBM’s answer is to move the work from a Silverlake to an attached PC, you can write off the AS/400. Nobody’s going to pay IBM’s AS/400 asking price for what will amount to a file server. The lack of a maths co-processor means that the AS/400 will be pitifully slow at many financial calculations and a real dog if a workload includes the odd bit of engineering work. A more subtle omission is the lack of a graphics co-processor that would enable the AS/400 to produce sophisticated displays on the dumb terminals IBM users hang on their S/3X machines. It looks like IBM’s generals have designed a machine to win the last war, the one that gave IBM the S/3X base. That war was fought and won before DEC grew strong and the PC, such as it was, hadn’t been coopted, first by IBM and than by the cloners. IBM will have a very tough time expanding its base with the AS/400, even though selling the iron to System/3X shops will be a cinch. Grumpy There’s one clear bit of progress (albeit borrowed from the best PC programs). The AS/400 is designed for ease of use. With built-in tutorials, clever diagnostics, and access to an immense body of tested applications programs written for its predecessor, it will be a low-cost system for the unsophisticated user. Price-performance is only one factor in the total cost equation, and IBM’s marketing force will make sure the user knows this. From IBM’s standpoint, the machine is also likely to be a source of improved profit margins. The built-in modem will help IBM keep its service costs to a minimum, at the same time pleasing the user who can expect a technician to show up, proper spares in hand, any time an AS/400 feels grumpy. We wouldn’t be surprised if the diagnostics included a system-loading analysis. Imagine a computer that can call IBM with tips for the sales force when a user is in need of an upgrade… and then report how long it took the sales rep to show up and bag the order!
