PRICE BRACKET UNDER ENCORE PACT
Prior to the company’s separation from its aerospace parent and flotation in the UK later this year, McDonnell Douglas Information Systems has enhanced its Series 19 range to offer co-resident Unix and Reality Pick application support at the high end, and added four new Series 19 models at the low end. The RX series of multi- and parallel processors – which in terms of price are in the mainframe bracket – are based on Encore Computer Corp’s Multimax machines – built around the National Semiconductor NS32532, and applications and tools from the Reality operating system will run in conjunction with Encore’s parallel implementation of Unix. The two companies signed a joint development agreement in October last year without revealing the purport of it – but the plans were as hazarded at the time (CI No 1,073). The three models in the RX range have Reality Pick database characteristics integrated into the native Unix, and are totally compatible with the rest of the Series 19 range. The RX22, rated at 34 MIPS, comes with four to eight processors, 64Mb and 1.2Gb or 192Mb and 7.2Mb respectively. The mid-range RX44 has between eight and 12 processors. The eight processor model is rated at 68 MIPS with 128Mb and 2.4Gb disk, and the 12 processor has 320Mb and 9.6Gb with 102 MIPS. The top-end RX66 has 12 processors expandable to 18. With 192Mb and 3.6Gb or 448Mb and 9.6Gb, it is rated at 102 MIPS or 153 MIPS. Entry-level prices for the RX22, RX44, and RX66 are UKP850,000, UKP1.5m, and UKP1.9m respectively. The new Series 19 entry-level models use ASIC chips integrating 100,000 logic gates each. They were developed by McDonnell Douglas in the UK, but are probably based on ASIC chips that were integrated into the Series 6000 range in August last year (CI No 1,235). The company says that up to three slots are released by incorporating the new processor board, and CPU performance is improved by 250%. Three new desk-side units include a Model 19025T, which is a tower processor with 25 ports, 1Mb to 4Mb capacity supplemented by 70Mb to 667Mb disk, and a 150Mb cartridge tape drive. Model 19050T has 50 ports, 3Mb to 8Mb capacity with an additional 140Mb to 1Gb, and a 150Mb drive. Model 19075T has 8Mb to 1Gb, and 75 ports. Model 19095T has 95 ports, with connection for up to four parallel processors and two magnetic tape units. It is the smallest unit to which a new Mass Storage Unit with twinned 8mm cassettes offering 2Gb capacity can be fitted. The high-end Model 19850T has 850 ports, and supplements the current 19750S, but won’t be available until 1991. Prices start at UKP16,000 for the 19095T rising to UKP833,000 for the top-end machine.
