IBM Corp is set to lift the lid on its Generation 5 (G5) CMOS System/390 mainframes next month that should put the company firmly back on the performance map. G5 will restore its lead over CMOS rival Amdahl Corp and put it within striking distance of Hitachi Ltd’s ECL Skyline mainframes. G5 should deliver 114 MIPS per R6 Model uniprocessor and offer 800 MIPS as a 10-way while the RY26 will offer 124 MIPS and 850 MIPS as a 10-way. The Meta Group thinks G5 puts IBM squarely back in the high-end race. Although engine speed is better than expected, it notes multiprocessing ratios are less than stellar; however, for a large portion of the market, it will be good enough. G5 pricing – said to be around $6,000 per MIPS – will drive down high-end prices, though systems probably won’t be available until September. Amdahl yesterday announced the general availability of its Millennium 700 series CMOS mainframe that performs 80 MIPS as a uniprocessor or 686 MIPS as a 12-way system, and says its won a record number of shipments since the early release in February, due to pent up demand for ECL replacement systems. It has already installed a 12-way 7Z5 system at Atlanta, Georgia-based Southern Company, the largest US electricity supplier, and another at Belgium’s Kredietbank Group. Amdahl plans to introduce 100 MIPS 800 series chip technology from Fujitsu Ltd due next year. IBM’s G4 series servers, launched last year (CI No 3,177) reached 63 MIPS as uniprocessors and 450 MIPS as ten-ways.
