Sequent Computer Systems Inc is boosting the transaction processing capabilities of its Symmetry parallel processors with new storage and terminal interface products. The company has added a new high-capacity 8 disk drive for increased system capacity for large databases. The 988Mb capacity tops the limit of Sequent’s current 792Mb drive and gives a lower cost per megabyte of memory. Total storage supported on Symmetry systems is now 32Gb. Along with the drive comes a 2Gb helical scan tape drive that uses an 8mm cartridge; tape cartridge capacity was previously limited to 150Mb. And the Beaverton, Oregon company also has a distributed terminal controller that supports up to 1,024 remote terminals and printers on a Symmetry machine, eliminating the need for individual connections to the system. Sequent claims to have installed over 1,900 systems since the launch of its first parallel processor in 1984, with the help of major European OEM customers, which include Siemens AG in West Germany, still firmly stuck on derivatives of the original Balance machines, which use the National Semiconductor Corp NS32000 microprocessor family – the decision to opt for the NatSemi chip was quixotic since Sequent was formed by 16 refugees from Intel’s systems business, and added insult to injury by taking the department secretary with them. In the UK, Apricot Computers Plc markets the Intel 80386-based Symmetry machines under its own name.
