IBM is announcing a line of low-priced AS/400 servers optimised to run only Lotus Domino.
The company is expected to announce three Domino-dedicated AS/400e servers that will range in price from $US11,000 to $US22,500, say IBM executives. A fully configured AS/400 can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
IBM claims that 28 pr cent of all Domino users are running the software on the AS/400 already, making it the No. 2 Domino server platform after Windows NT. Typically IS managers use their Domino servers to do a variety of other tasks simultaneously such as run file and print or enterprise resources planning apps, IBM says. This obviously cuts down on the Domino performance. Now users looking just to run Domino applications can get a reliable AS/400 server that can handle a heavy workload at a PC-server price.
The server and Domino are so tightly coupled that the company is recommending the server not be used with any non-Domino applications. Customers will also be able to partition Domino in the server and have multiple versions of the application running simultaneously, IBM says.
The AS/400 Dedicated Server for Domino will be available September 24.