Hitachi Data Systems has launched its powerful EX 310 and EX 420 mainframes, also available from Hitachi Ltd’s other European distributor, Comparex Informationssysteme GmbH as the CPX 9/930 and CPX 9/940. The new boxes offer improved ECL switching speeds of 70pS, outstripping Amdahl’s 5990 processor which switches at 180pS, and IBM’s 3090-600J. The CMOS input-output CMOS logic switches at 300pS against 1nS for the previous generation. The EX 310 is a triadic processor offering 1.4 times the performance of Hitachi’s EX 100 and the EX 420 is a double dyadic performing at 1.7 times that of the EX 100. Improved expanded storage may be configured at up to 4Gb on the 310, 8Gb on the 420, using 80nS access RAMs. Central storage, as with EX models 85, 90, 95, and 100, goes to 2Gb. The machines offer up to 256Kb of cache using BiCMOS statics with an access time of 1.6nS. The channel speeds are 3Mbps, 4.5Mbps and 6Mbps, and the 310 can take up to 48 fibre optic channels, the 420 up to 96. The triadic processor delivers around 120 MIPS, and with 150 MIPS from the double dyadic, both compare favourably with 3090-600J’s 112 MIPS. Clock speed is less than the 10nS on Amdahl’s 5990, and 14.4nS on IBM’s 3090J, but neither Hitachi nor Comparex will confirm that it is the anticipated 8nS. Other enhancements include air or water-cooling, and changes to the Multiple Logical Processor Facility. This provides support for 24,576 unit control words expanded from 4,096 – Resource Capping, and Wait Completion. Hitachi will supply an Integrated Vector Facility based on the same architecture as for the EX models 50 to 100 (CI No 1,420). Availability is a moot point: Comparex says second quarter, Hitachi sees first quarter shipments.
