IBM Corp today announces the long-anticipated G5 series of S/390 servers for its core System/360, System/370 or System/390 customer base. The machines include the fastest mainframe processors ever developed by IBM, together with increased memory and I/O bandwidth capacities. More significantly, the G5s will finally put to rest the debate as to when CMOS processors will obsolete the much more expensive bipolar and ECL processors that IBM, Amdahl and Hitachi have used in their mainframe systems for decades. IBM ditched bipolar in 1994 and has since then relied on its parallel sysplex clustering technology to create servers that offer the scalability of bipolar machines from its rivals. Indeed, Bipolar technology will become effectively obsolete in September 1998, when the Turbo versions of IBM’s G5 processors, code-named Symphony, hit the market. IBM says that it has been bidding G4 placeholders as part of G5 deals since January and that it has hundreds of G5 customers lined up already. IBM is adamant about not talking pricing, even though it is required to by law. The 1956 Consent Decree, which IBM signed to put a stop to an antitrust lawsuit brought against it by the US Department of Justice, is still in effect for the AS/400 and S/390 lines and requires IBM to release list prices for all of the equipment and software it sells under these lines. However, expect prices to be around $6,000 per MIPS for complete G5 systems, down from $7,000 per MIPS for G4 servers six months ago. More details, see Barbed Wire.
