IBM to add muscle to RS/6000 servers

IBM in October is scheduled to release an enterprise-level RS/6000 server capable of supporting as many as 24 processors. In a recent benchmark, a beta version of the upcoming RS/6000 S80 Enterprise Server reportedly set a record for Internet performance, IBM said.

A 12-way version of the system, running an early version of AIX 4.3.3, delivered a Specweb96 benchmark of 40,161 HTTP operations per second, which is about 66 per cent faster than the previous title holder, Hewlett-Packard's HP 9000 N-Class server.

Separately, IBM has also sent out to selected beta-testers a repackaged version of its RS/6000 Model 150 workstation that it will sell as a server. Also expected in the fall, the system, code-named Pizzazz, uses the innards of the Model 150.

The system's processor reportedly can transfer about 6.4GB of data when using 4MB of high-speed cache memory. Pricing on both systems will be set as they get closer to delivery, company officials said.