Eleven months after its introduction (CI No 2,764), NCR Corp has upgraded its Intel-based WorldMark server family, adding support for 200MHz Pentium Pro processors (with their 512Kb cache) and expanding scalability beyond four processors. And for its top-end system, the WorldMark 5100, the company has expanded the system from a maximum 16 nodes up to 128, using its Bynet interconnect technology, meaning that a fully configured system could scale up to 4,096 Pentium Pro processors, given a customer with a large enough wallet. Existing servers, which were always advertised as Pentium Pro-ready, can be easily upgraded. WorldMark 4100 servers, which are desktop models, now support from two to eight chips, and each processor can be supplemented with an additional 8Mb of static SRAM cache. The 4500 now reaches up to 16 processors, each with 8Mb or 16Mb of supporting SRAM, depending on the model. The 5100s come in three models: the 5100S servers now scale up to 32 processors, each with 16Mb SRAM – and this is the basic building block for the 5100C (cluster) and 5100M (massively parallel) models. Clusters can contain up to 256 processors, while the massively parallel systems can include up to 128 multiprocessor nodes, connected via an upgraded Bynet now capable of a total interconnect bandwidth of 64Gbps. Pricing starts from $40,000 for a dual processor, 8Mb cache-per-CPU board for the 4100/4500, rising to $125,000 for the quad processor, 16Mb cache-per-CPU board for the 4550 and 5100, with general availability in the fourth quarter – though customers who can’t wait can buy existing 166MHz Pentium systems now and upgrade in the fourth quarter.
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