Tandem Computers Inc has extended its fault-tolerant Unix line with a new release of its NonStop-UX operating system and a new CM-1300 system in its Integrity line of MIPS Technologies R-series RISC-based machines. The new NonStop-UX 2.0 is designed further to minimise planned and unplanned system downtime. New features include the Veritas file system, which is claimed to guarantee file system integrity and enable rapid file system recovery; a new user-level state-check program that monitors processes deemed vital to system operation and restarts them if terminated; and a new fast-reboot feature that enables upgrades to the NonStop-UX kernel to be performed in less than two minutes. Tandem also launched the Integrity System Management Suite, a set of system management applications designed to reduce administrative costs and minimise system outages. From a single console at any point on the network, technical staff can manage networks of Integrity systems with the Suite: it is a graphical, object-oriented system management toolset, designed with icons, pull-down menus, and realistic depictions of system configurations and components. The CM-1300 provides increased disk storage capacity up to a maximum of 48Gb and features an upright cabinet designed so that the system can be easily upgraded to higher performance RISC technology by exchanging processor boards in the future. An entry-level CM-1300 is $179,800, now. The Integrity System Management Suite begins at $5,000 for a base system administration facility, now. The CM-1300 is the second system introduced in three months from Tandem’s development partnership with NCR Corp and NCR added it as a new StarServer FT.
