Compagnie des Bull SA has duly launched Estrella, its entry-level uniprocessor PowerPC RISC servers aimed at the low end of the personal computer server market (CI No 2,676). It is based on the PowerPC 603 processor running at 66MHz with a 250Kb second level cache, Peripheral Component Interconnect bus and comes in desktop and minitower versions pre-loaded with IBM Corp’s AIX. A Windows NT version is promised for the autumn but Solaris has been pushed back to next year, according to Didier Breton, vice-president of the Open Systems & Software Division. He declined to give a data for NetWare on the Estrella but confirmed that the company is working on it. However, Michel Motro, European vice-president of Bull’s Zenith Data Systems personal computer subsidiary – said that there were no plans whatsoever for NetWare on the machines. The Estrella will be sold under both the Bull and Zenith names, but Motro said that once the 100MHz PowerPC 604 version becomes available in July, it and all future PowerPC machines will sold as Zenith machines. This is part of a move by the Open Systems & Software Division to take advantage of what it sees as Zenith’s expertise in indirect sales channels. The 100MHz PowerPC 604 model will be followed by a 120MHz version before year-end, Breton said, and PowerPC 603 machines will be upgradable to the 604. Estrella, which is ready to ship now, is more expensive that originally thought, starting at $3,70 0. The Estrella 604 will start at around $6,000 in July.
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