Network server builder Tricord Systems Inc of Minneapolis, which just opened for business in Germany (CI No 1,891), is preparing to ship its fault-tolerant PowerFrame network super servers in the UK from June. Including fault-tolerant software that provides support for RAID disk arrays, disk mirroring and data striping for users of Novell Inc NetWare, Interactive Systems Corp Unix, OS/2, LAN Manager, Santa Cruz Unix and Banyan Systems Inc Vines, there are two basic models, the 30 and 40, with a choice of single or dual processor 25MHz, 33MHz and 50MHz 80486 chips. Both use the EISA bus. Tricord is also beta-testing its fault-tolerant super server with Santa Cruz Operation Inc’s Unix MPX multi-processor operating system. They were introduced in the US last November, and PowerFrame sales are expected to reach $40m this year. Kubota Co, which has a 5.2% stake in Tricord, markets the PowerFrame in Japan where Tricord claims it has reached its target of $4.5m in sales for 1991. The products compete head-to-head with Compaq Computer Corp’s SystemPro and the NetFrame Systems Inc machines, but Tricord claims that it has a better architecture than Compaq’s, and is cheaper and more open than NetFrame’s proprietary technology.
