Arix Corp, San Jose, California, is due to extend its latest System 90 upwards with Sparc RISC boards and 68040 upgrades when the latter become available, according to UK and European managing director David Bethel. The system 90 series, which includes the up to four processor model 40 and up to eight processor model 80, currently supports between 16 and 512 users, and uses tightly coupled 68020s running at 25MHz for a performance range of between 4 and 30 MIPS. Arix, which claims to be the world’s third largest manufacturer of mid-range systems, selling hardware mostly through OEM customers such as ABS Computers, Mannesmann Kienzle, Microtex, Star Computer Group and Unisys Corp, is set to introduce a new high end series of systems later this year, and Bethel says existing machines will become Posix-stamped in October. Arix uses a proprietary bus architecture employing three distinct processing paths connected to a bus arbiter, each of which can be upgraded to derive greater performance. Arix’s European division now employs 10 people, and Betchel says that there are now some 1,000 Arix systems installed in Europe for which the UK accounts for 500.
