The new processors IBM is expected to unveil on September 5 will supplant three related product lines. The 9370 will be replaced by the 9221 family; the 4381 will be succeeded by the 9121 family; and the 3090 will give way to the 9021 family. Based on rumours that can be traced back to leaks from IBM’s sales force – the peddlers were told about the machines on Wednesday, August 22 – it appears that IBM will be unable to ship a truly new generation of mainframe processors until the fourth quarter of 1991. Even then, only two models – a four-engined processor and a six-engined processor – are likely to be in Big Blue’s line-up. In the interim, the manufacturer will sell customers repackaged versions of 3090 mainframes. These mainframes will use CPU technology identical to that in the 3090-J series but will offer some enhancements in the form of optional features such as glass rather than copper input-output cabling. The new mainframes need thicker pipes for chilled water (2 versus 1.5) but will use somewhat less power due to a change in memory technology. Optimistic observers suggest that IBM could announce more new processors before the end of 1991, killing the 3090 clones. However, IBM can only do so if it no longer needs to sell the recast 3090 mainframes. This means that IBM will only announce real 9021s below the four-banger level if it can ship iron promptly – or if sales of the old-technology systems have already ground to a halt. IBM’s really new machines will be the four-processor, 161 MIPS 9021-820 and the six-processor, 212 MIPS 9021-900. These machines will be promised to some users under early support agreements for mid-1991. Regular deliveries will commence during the fourth quarter.-

By Hesh Wiener

Only old-technology 9021s can be upgraded to new-technology 9021s; owners of 3090s will have to buy multiple upgrades or just swap out old equipment to get new 9021s. Pricing information was not available to us at press time. Even IBM’s sales force seemed to be in the dark about IBM’s list prices. This leads us to believe that the big debate was raging right down to the wire: should IBM slash list prices and minimise discounts… or keep list prices artificially high and sell at deep discounts as it did with the 3090? The 3090-technology machines in the 9021 line include six models. There are two uniprocessors: the 330, at 20 MIPS – a remake of the 170J – and the 340, at 24 MIPS – a recast 180J. IBM will unveil one dyadic machine: the model 500, which, at 45 MIPS, is essentially a 3090-200J. IBM will offer to upgrade installed 3090 models 170J and 180J to 9021-500s. The triadic model 580 – at 65 MIPS a recast 300J – is available directly or as an upgrade to installed 3090-200J processors. The four-engined model 620 has the 85 MIPS of a 3090-400J. It is optionally available as an upgrade to an installed 3090-200J. The top of the old-technology 9021 line is the model 720. With six engines and capable of 112 MIPS, the 720 has the same power as the 3090-600J on which its processor is based. Field upgrades will be available to owners of 3090 models 300J, 400J, 500J and 600J. All the old-technology machines should be shipped in limited quantities by year-end. Upgrades of 3090s to 9021s will become available during the first several months of 1991. The exact availabilities will vary depending on the source and target machines. All the 9021s will use new power units – for the first time based on 230-volt 60-cycle three-phase current rather than the old 415-volt technology. There will also be a new coolant distribution box and some additional system components.

Clusters

One new box will eventually serve to synchronise processor clusters. Another will provide switching between processors with both old-style and fibre optic channel cabling and peripheral device controllers. There will be six models in the air-cooled 9121 midrange line. Four of the machines are uniprocessors: the 8 MIPS model 190, the 12 MIPS model 210, the 16 MIPS model 280 and the 23 MIPS model 320. Above these machines lie the dual-processor 32 MIP

S model 440 and the dual-processor 40 MIPS model 480. There will not be field upgrades of 4381s to these new machines, but within the 9121 there will be full model-to-model upgrades (except, we understand, a model 320-to-model 440 upgrade). The smallest new 370-architecture systems, the 9221s, will encompass four boxes: the model 120 at 2 MIPS, the model 130 at 3 MIPS, the model 150 at 5 MIPS and the model 170 at 6.5 MIPS. There may well be field upgrades or trade-in options to ease migration from some 9221s to some 9121s. All these air-cooled systems should be shipped in short order, with volume production no later than first quarter 1991.

Summary of announcement expected on September 5

Model Processors MIPS Equivalent to

Summit 9021-900 Six 212 9021-820 Four 161

3090 9021-720 Six 20 3090-600J 9021-620 Four 85 3090-400J 9021-580 Three 65 3090-300J 9021-500 Two 45 3090-200J 9021-340 One 24 3090-180J 9021-330 One 20 3090-170J

4391 9121-480 Two 40 9121-440 Two 32 9121-320 One 23 9121-280 One 16 9121-210 One 12 9121-190 One 8

9370 9221-170 One 2 9221-150 One 3 9221-130 One 5 9221-120 One 6.5

(C) Copyright 1990 Technology Co of America Inc. All rights reserved.article will appear in the next issue of Infoperspectives International, marketed in the UK by Apt Data Services Ltd.