Sun Microsystems and HP
Tuesday both ramped up their efforts to stay at the top of the UNIX
server market.
Sun unveiled upgrades to its Sun Fire 3800, 4800, 6800, 12K and 15K servers, integrating the 1.05 GHz UltraSPARC III Cu processor.
The new processor features Sun’s Uniboard CPU/Memory board, which enables hot CPU capabilities and support for mixed-speed CPUs,
giving users the ability to leverage existing 900 MHz UltraSPARC III chips, or to add the forthcoming 1.2 GHz chips without
scrapping past purchases.
Not to be outdone, HP, which holds second place in the UNIX server market after Sun, unveiled upgrades to both its PA-RISC and
AlphaServer lines. HP has made its 875 MHz PA-RISC 8700+ processor — available in its Superdome servers since June — available in
its entry-level and mid-range HP-UX servers, including the 16-way HP Server rp8400, the 8-way HP Server rp7410, and the 4-way HP
Server rp5400 series.
For the AlphaServer series — acquired through the Compaq merger — HP unveiled the new two-way 1 GHz AlphaServer DS25, 1.25 GHz
AlphaServer ES45 and AlphaServer SC45 Supercomputer (both with a larger cache), and a 1.224 GHz AlphaServer GS80, GS160, and GS320
with larger cache (available later in August).
Additionally, the firm introduced Temporary instant Capacity On Demand (TiCOD), an offering which provides capacity-on-demand for
short-term demands. TiCOD enables the activation of iCOD processors that draw upon a 30-day right-to-use license. The license can be
used for more than one iCOD CPU in a server and can span usage periods of months or years, as demand dictates.
