Milpitas, California-based NetFrame Systems Inc has launched the NetFrame ClusterServer 8500 family, claiming symmetric multiprocessing with complete processor fault-tolerance. It eliminates the processor-cache complex as a single point of failure, but without degrading system performance and is claimed to be completely transparent to system software and applications. The NF8500 builds on NetFrame’s Multiprocessing Parallel Server Architecture, which supports the clustering of multiple independent input-output ports and Application Servers. Novell Inc’s NetWare 4 will be the first network operating system supported. Gemini is the name NetFrame has given to its dual processor cluster that runs in lock step mode and is designed to provide the ultimate fault tolerance. The central processor complex in the NF8500 features Intel Corp’s 100MHz Pentium processor. The system bus provides peak throughput of 800Mbps. The initial release of the system will support 8Mb to 32Mb SIMM memory modules, supporting a maximum memory capacity of 512Mb. As 128Mb SIMMs become available, the system will support up to 2Gb, says NetFrame. Four-way symmetric multiprocessing operation will be available with the symmetric multiprocessing version of NetWare 4.1 and Microsoft Corp’s Windows NT Server 3.5. NetFrame claims it is the first system vendor to implement processor auditing, that is, optional processor data integrity checking based on Intel’s Functional Redundancy Checking technology. A second Pentium ‘auditor’ compares its results each clock cycle with those of the Pentium ‘processor’. Any inconsistency detected will result in the indication of a fault, thus ensuring that data is not corrupted. NetFrame has also introduced optional fault tolerance for processor-cache modules, available through Gemini mode operation. A transaction-based bus protocol enables the system to roll back and retry faulty data transfers, guaranteeing system integrity and enhancing availability. The NF8500 can correct up to eight simultaneous errors in each access to main memory so no single dynamic RAM failure can cause an uncorrectable error, claims NetFrame. Corrected memory errors are automatically logged, supporting efficient deferred maintenance. The NF8500 also re-maps faulty SIMM memory banks detected during power-on diagnostics. Existing NetFrame servers can be field-upgraded to become an NF8500 in less than one hour. Shipping now, the ClusterServer 8500 family consists of three models: the NF8500E, NF8500HA and NF8500AS. The NF8500E costs $89,950 with 64Mb system memory, an 80486-based input-output server providing two Ethernet connections, one Fast/Wide SCSI channel, a 2Gb Fast-Wide Live-Drive and the Maestro Cluster Management Software including dynamic and remote administration. The NF8500HA model features redundant input-output servers and power subsystems.
