Invincible Technologies Corp, Franklin, Massachusetts has introduced its Lifeline Information Servers Series, aiming to hit the spot it reckons Auspex Systems Inc and Network Appliance Corp have missed, offering Network File System servers combined with what it calls intelligent centralised storage management. Companies are looking to provide Network File System processing, it reasons, but coupled with other applications on the same server. A dedicated server is hard to justify in the modern business environment, it claims. The Lifeline Series comprises the L200 and L275 series, offering the 200MHz or 275MHz 64-bit Alpha RISC, connected via a 128-bit wide data path. The system runs either 64-bit Unix or Windows NT Server, both supporting 133Mbps PCI system bus combined with a 2Mb of 12nS system cache and up to 512Mb of RAM. The RAID controller is powered by a dedicated RISC chip and supports up to 32Mb of non-volatile cache. A Lifeline L2000, fully configured with 200MHz processor, 64Mb of memory, RAID controller, 8.6Gb of disk capacity, Digital Audio Tape drive, Fast Ethernet board, 15 colour graphics console and Lifeline system software starts at $35,000 and is shipping now. ITC believes it will ship 300 units in its first year. The company has a direct sales force in the US and plans to rely on indirect channels in Europe, establishing its European headquarters in the UK. The Lifeline servers incorporate Invincible Technologies’ in-house-developed Management, Environmental and Diagnostic Subsystem, an on-board diagnostic capability that monitors numerous system parameers, such as disk drive status, temperatures inside the enclosure and the quality of the server’s electrical power. The Management, Environmental and Diagnostic Subsystem anticipates and notifies the company and the user of potential problems via facsimile, electronic mail or pager, and displays the location of components requiring attention. Other Lifeline server features include redundant on-line-replaceable components, including power supplies, and cooling, a journal-based file system the company claims eliminate file system checks, RISC-based RAID input-output processors supporting user configurable RAID levels and removable, hot-pluggable disk modules supporting 2.1Gb and 4.3Gb disks. The privately-held Invincible Technologies has 50 employees and has its background in high-performance, fault-tolerant RAID disk subsystems. It is projecting turnover of $20m this year.
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