Research Machines Plc is not the only company demonstrating that the UK can be home to small, successful independent computer manufacturers, and Integrated Micro Products Ltd, up in Consett, County Durham is working right at the leading edge of computer technology as well, as the tiny number of companies building fault-tolerant machines – and the host of fault-tolerant hopefuls that have fallen by the wayside testifies. Now the company claims to be pioneering what it calls third-generation fault-tolerant technology with the industry’s first line of scalable fail-safe Unix systems (CI No 1,845). The company describes third-generation fault tolerance as entirely implemented in hardware, eliminating the need to modify applications or operating systems and enabling enhancements to Unix to be incorporated easily. Integrated Micro calls its technology OpenFT3 and will immediately begin marketing it to OEM customers as being adaptable to different CPU chips, architectures and versions of Unix or other operating systems from MS-DOS machines and local networks to mid-range and large-scale systems. OpenFT3 is said to comprise CPU design, data integrity features, fault-tolerant input-output structure, integrated fault-tolerant uninterruptible power, configurations management systems, and user-serviceable design. The first member of the line is the XTM, scalable from one to two 68040-based fault-tolerant processor complexes. The product will ultimately include a high performance system scalable to eight processor complexes as well as a low-cost version. OEM pricing depends on customer specifications. Integrated Micro’s OEM Technology Division vice-president Brian Knowles claims the architecture will become the source for at least 25% of all fault-tolerant Unix systems sold. The new XTM system, of course based on OpenFT3, is also being put on the OEM market. The company’s first announced customer is Motorola Inc which is using it as the hub for a new trunked radio system called SmartZone, designed for police, fire, ambulance, gas and electric utilities. The front end of the Motorola configuration required a real-time operating system and P-SOS from Software Components Group was implemented on the XTM as a co-resident operating system, said to be a first in the world of fault-tolerant Unix. The XTM architecture has two components, the fault-tolerant core and redundant input-output subsystems. The core consists of two or three CPU sets, each with one or more microprocessors and associated cache and main memory. All major components within each input-output subsystem are duplicated as are peripheral subsystems and disk storage. The system, running Unix System V, includes a single or dual 33MHz 68040 complex offering 27 MIPS to 54 MIPS; 16Mb to 256Mb of memory and dual fault-tolerant input-output buses. The XTM CPUsets run synchronously and can be configured with dual or triple redundancy. OEM pricing starts at $50,000 for a 27 MIPS system and $60,000 for the 54 MIPS with Unix.
