And Hewlett-Packard has filled in the gap between its uniprocessor and multi-processor HP 9000 systems with a new box – the HP 9000 Model 860S. Available as an upgrade path for HP 9000 Model 850S and 855S systems, and sitting below the Model 870S multiprocessors launched back in January (CI No 1,340), the 860S has four times the cache size of the 855S, giving a claimed 30% boost to transaction processing applications over the older box. It is aimed at commercial applications such as payroll and accounting, warehouse and inventory management, manufacturing resource planning, sales and order processing. The price is $291,000, from October: upgrades from 850S and 855S machines cost $170,000 and $80,000 respectively, and 860S owners will be able to upgrade to a single processor 870S/100 for $178,000.
