Encore Computer Corp, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, introduced a new high end series of Infinity 90 machines to its existing Motorola Inc 88000 RISC-based line. The Infinity 90 is based on the one-to-four CPU technology of Encore’s 91 system. Used as a subsystem in the Infinity 90, up to 512 of these units can be coupled and used in various configurations as communications processors, input-output and general purpose compute systems. Each subsystem runs a separate copy of Umax, Encore’s Unix System V implementation, which are brought together by an Remote Procedure Call-based mechanism. With from 35 MIPS to 70,000 MIPS performance the Infinity 90 uses the reflective (shared) memory technology that Encore derived from its Gould Computer acquisition in 1988. Storage capacity ranges from 4Gb to 200Tb. Each subsystem comes with from one to four 88100s and is rated at 35 to 140 MIPS, 20 to 80 MFLOPS. It supports a full complement of networking, interface, development and database environments. Encore says its current plan is to move to the next-generation 88110 RISC over time, but claims that its architecture is CPU-independent and that it is evaluating other processors. Upgrades to its existing 91 and 93 systems are in the works and Encore says it expects its OEM customer, McDonnell-Douglas Information Systems Ltd, to sign up for the new machine.
