Amdahl Corp has added features and enhancements to expand the capacity and performance of its 4745 front-end communications processors, which are alternatives to IBM Corp’s 3745. The 4745’s central control unit performance has been improved by using fast static RAM in place of dynamics, reducing the number of cycles required to access memory and performance has also been increased with the addition of a new channel adaptor that has an LSI interface to the 4745’s internal bus to minimise internal delays on the bus. A new channel signalling process incorporates an efficient bus-and-tag procedure, increasing channel availability for data transfer operations by reducing system demands on each channel. The 4745 will now also support transmission T1 speeds of 1.544Mbps in North America, and CEPT/E1 speeds of 2.048Mbps in Europe and the Pacific Basin. The enhanced processors allow concurrent data transfer on up to eight channels, increasing from six to eight the number of host CPUs that can be supported on a data communications network. The high- performance enhancements, including SRAM memory and expanded eight- channel capability, are priced at $30,000 plus $2,700 apiece for new LSI channel adaptors when an exist ing adaptor is offered in exchange. Without trade-in, a new adaptor will be $12,500. The high-speed scanner for T1 and CEPT/E1 connect ions is $22,000 from third quarter.
