We’ve been expecting a new series of real-time multiprocessors from Concurrent Computer Corp for some time, and the Oceanport, New Jersey-based firm now says they’ll be out by the beginning of next year. Based on MIPS Technologies Inc’s latest R4400 RISC, the systems – which would appear debut as the 9000 series if Concurrent retains its existing numbering scheme, though that’s not clear – will come with up to 16 CPUs and incorporate a new high-speed bus architecture that Concurrent has designed to eliminate bottlenecks traditionally associated with real-time systems. One of the problems with Concurrent’s best-selling Unix system, the Motorola Inc 68040-based 7000 multiprocessor, is that when customers have added extra CPUs, the 7000’s bus system hasn’t been able to pass data to the input-output device as quickly as the chip is able to process it. That’s because extra chips have been added to the same motherboard built around a VMEbus that has only one connection to the computer’s system bus. Each R4400 part in the new systems will sit on its own board with 64Kb memory. Each board has its own connection to the newly-fashioned system bus, and Concurrent claims a typical three-processor R4400 system should be able transfer data at a rate of 600Mb per second, with linear performance increases as the CPU count rises. 68040-based 7000 series users will be able to upgrade to R4400s simply by swapping boards, Concurrent says. The firm hasn’t sold too many of its R3000-based series 8000 machines – they are a bit out on a limb, it says, and has outlined no R4400 upgrade details for those users. Although, according to Concurrent, one R4400 chip is as powerful as three 68040s, the new systems will cost the same as the 7000 series, starting at around UKP20,000. A comparable 8000 is UKP40,000.
