Data General Corp will think long and hard before it decides whether to commit to using the IBM AIX-on-Merced kernel, which will be the basis of Santa Cruz Operation Inc’s future 64-bit UnixWare operating system. DG’s plan had been to supersede its DG/UX Unix with a UnixWare based on SCO’s 64-bit implementation of Unix SVR4, but is reconsidering its position in light of SCO’s alignment around AIX. DG, one of the companies which put its hand in its pocket to support SCO’s enterprise development efforts, observes there’s plenty of 64-bit support already built into DG/UX and that Merced systems are still a long way off. In the meantime, it’s not yet ready to reveal which technology it will use as the basis of future eight-way Windows NT servers. It had been OEMing defunct Axil Computers’ eight-ways as its high-end AV8600 box until the launch of the four-way AV8700 rackmount at Comdex this week. A DG spokesperson didn’t know whether the company had made a decision about which of the handful of eight- way Intel server technologies it would use but said AV8700 users would be able to upgrade to eight-way boxes early next year. DG has rights to Axil’s IP – said to extend to 16-ways – as part its license.
