Solbourne Computer Corp, Longmont, Colorado has extended its line of Sparc-based servers with the Series5E/800i Network Server. The new system is a mid-range server targeted at the multi-user and client-server markets. Configured as a deskside system, it supports up to four CPUs and has a claimed performance of 114 MIPS, 15.1 MFLOPS and 71.6 SPECthruput. A two-CPU configuration with 32Mb memory and 860Mb IPI disk is priced at $84,900, with a performance of 60 MIPS. But both Solbourne and ICL Plc could face increased competition from Sun Microsystems Inc this summer, when Sun is expected to launch servers based on the Texas Instruments Inc Viking implementation of the Sparc RISC. The Viking chip set is being implemented in the emerging BiCMOS technology, which is designed to provide the best of both worlds – bipolar technology for the speed-critical parts of the chip, CMOS elsewhere to reduce overall power consumption, and CMOS power levels off-chip, enabling CMOS support components to be used. Early reports hint at 60 MIPS uniprocessor and 120 MIPS dual processor models in the pipeline for the next generation Sun Sparcstations.
