A development system for designers of Pentium-based symmetric multiprocessing systems is now available from LSI Logic Corp, Milpitas, California. It’s designed to enable developers to implement a symmetric multiprocessing system using two to four Pentium CPUs and LSI Logic’s Hydra high-integration core logic chip set. Hydra – claimed to be the first available chip set developed specifically for Pentium-based symmetric multiprocessing systems, provides all core logic functions in a four-chip set. It supports the shared memory architecture of Windows NT and multi-user Unix, and provides a direct bridge to the Peripheral Component Interconnect bus. It supports cache sizes up to 2Mb, and up to 2Gb of shared main memory with a 128-bit data path and Error Checking and Correction protection. The memory bus is LSI Logic’s Multiprocessor Interconnect bus, with a 64-bit wide data path, and the company will be publishing the specifications of this bus. Pricing for the Hydra Development System, available only to qualified OEM customers, is set at $20,000 for the basic system, with additional separate boards available.
