The most striking feature of the new six-model AS/400 Silverlake family, announced yesterday by IBM, is the efforts to which IBM has gone to keep the entire System 36 and System 38 user base loyal to the company; whether the machine will prove a big winner of new business is less certain. The details of the machine six models, B10 to B60, the low-end two, using the 9404 processor coming in compact office cabinets, the top four with the 9406 processor coming in the same racks as the 9370 – have been so well leaked that there’s little more to say. On the software front, System 36 users must recompile, 38 users can load and go, but the native AS/400 operating system is the (only) gateway into Systems Applications Architecture, and RPG users have to go to the expected RPG IV, called RPG 400, to go native. RPG 400 enables RPG II programs to run, and for RPG III programs to be developed on the AS/400. The tiered software pricing introduced with the 9370 is replicated much more aggressively so that there are no fewer than six price levels, software costs rising more or less linearly with MIPS or number of terminals supported – at present, from about four on the B10, to 200 on the B60. Where the 34 and the 38 were launched with very little language support, the AS/400 comes with Cobol, PL/I, Basic, RPG, even Pascal. There is also an SQL 400, bringing the System 38 database into the SQL world. Among the ease of installation and use features, there are optional packaged versions of the systems, with the software pre-loaded, and since these make things easier for IBM as well as the user, they have a price advantage. And IBM is providing on-line diagnostic support, which even optionally enables the machine to phone Big Mother if it doesn’t feel well. Prices start at $19,000 for the B10 system unit, $33,500 for the B20, and most of the products announced are available on August 26, although the ASCII workstation controller – no doubt similar to the one on 9370, the 12-port workstation attachment, and the Token Ring Adaptor will be available in November. The higher-end, rack-mounted models start at $26,500 for the B30, $62,500 for the B40; $133,000 for the B50 and $229,500 for the B60. Again, availability is August 26. UK prices – see back page; full AS/400 details will appear in Computergram over the next few days.
