AS/400e shares more common technology with its RS/6000 AIX Unix cousins than previous AS/400 generations – about 85% – and there’s likely to be yet more utilization of common system components, according to general manager William Zeitler. While the two server lines use different I/O mechanisms, Zeitler expects the them to begin sharing new common disk systems and other peripherals, especially at the high-end, where he says most of the additional consolidation will take place. Zeitler says for small-to-medium businesses which represent around 65% to 70% of AS/400 sales, consolidation is not so much of an issue. It doesn’t look as though IBM is currently considering going the whole hog and offering a single box with a choice of AIX or OS/400 operating systems, though Zeitler says that being able to provide the discrete personalities of the two systems is the most important requirement going forward, based upon a survey of 1,800 corporate server users carried out on its behalf by market researcher IDC.
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