Wyse Technology Inc last week introduced its widely previewed third-generation symmetric multiprocessor system, the Series 7000i Model 760MP. The system, initially positioned as a Unix multi-user box and network database server, can support more than 250 active users and starts at $20,000 – UKP19,500 – for a uniprocessor. The system is scalable to five Intel Corp 66MHz 80486DX2 chips and will be field-upgradable to Pentiums once they become available. Additional boards list for $7,500. The system will also be sold as a Microsoft Corp NT server, starting at UKP22,000 and going to UKP34,500. It runs an SMP implementation of Unix System V.4 with Wyse-enhanced multithreading to tune performance. Optimal performance reportedly tops 200 MIPS. Maximum user load is 792 under the AIM III benchmark. A new highly integrated board design optimises the burst mode of the EISA bus. Data is transferred at 33Mb a second between the 32-bit EISA bus and the 64-bit Wyse Wyde bus, a four times input-output improvement over the previous generation. The board also features a controller ASIC that centrally manages system interrupts, improving scalability and overall throughput. There is SCSD-2 support for newer peripherals such as CD-ROM. It also improves data transfer to 10M-bytes a second, double the previous SCSI-1 drives. The system will handle a maximum of 52Gb of SCSI-2 storage via four expansion chassis. There are nine 32-bit EISA slots and six 64-bit proprietary Wyde slots. A 320Mb/525Mb cartridge tape drive is included. The system will boot remotely via an internal modem. Firmware upgrades can also be done remotely or with a floppy disk. The box ships with 16Mb expandable to 512Mb. Microsoft has used the box as a development and test system for multiprocessing NT. Development versions are $10,000 to promote NT applications development. The 760MP was designed on its big brother the 960MP. Word is it took only three days to boot Unix on the prototype.
